


And We are Miles High

by residentsheeper



Category: Druck | SKAM (Germany)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Canon Trans Character, Flight Attendant!David, Fools in Love, Getting Together, M/M, POV Alternating, Pilot!Matteo, Trans Male Character, pilot AU
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-18
Updated: 2019-11-17
Packaged: 2020-12-22 19:40:20
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 25,447
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21082019
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/residentsheeper/pseuds/residentsheeper
Summary: He is minding his business, and plans to head back to his apartment to rest when he is done, but as he idly raise his head and look out of the window of the café aimlessly, he sees a familiar figure in his company’s uniform walking past, with a small suitcase pulled after him. He can recognise that jaw line, that olive skin and those impressive curls from anywhere.He disappears as soon as he sees him.Somehow, even when he has moved cities, the guy that Jonas says Matteo is thirsting after is still haunting him, and somehow Matteo still has never worked with him.He curses his luck.From the writer ofAnd I walk onto the big-screen with YouandImmortalise This Moment





	1. Frankfurt

**Author's Note:**

  * For [shhhhyoursister](https://archiveofourown.org/users/shhhhyoursister/gifts).

> I'll just start right off by saying I did not really expect to be here sending out _yet another_ piece of multi-chapter fic. This will be a roughly 26k fic that I had finished writing earlier in September. This one is a bit more light-hearted I think, and again, I will post them regularly, and I hope you will enjoy it.
> 
> As I have addressed a few times, I am past the previous issues and I still want to write, but work has been bogging me down and I have a writing project or two that I have not touched in weeks. I hope I can write more but it is hard.
> 
> In the meantime, hope you would enjoy this ride with me as well!
> 
> * * *
> 
> Randomly gifting this to my friend Noah (@shhhhyoursister) as he is the MVP writer that writes a lot of good stuff - read his things if you haven't!!

“I’m moving to Frankfurt.” Matteo says out of the blue as he picks up a slice of pizza from the box. The game of Zelda is paused on Jonas’ television.

Jonas chokes on his bite of pizza.

To be fair, for Matteo it is not really out of the blue. He has been sitting on this news for a few weeks, at least, already. He has had told his mother and Hans when it came through but has been holding off on telling his friends since then. Saying it out loud makes it real.

He sighs.

“Why is that?” Jonas asks with a confused look on his face, after he has reined in his coughs and drank from the green mug put out by the politician he is working for.

“I’m going to start flying long haul more regularly next month or the one after next.” He shrugs. He has got his type rating for the A350 for a while, but still mainly flied on short haul flights around Europe on the A320s for the company. He has however recently passed his ATPL papers as well as pilot-in-command trainings and is now a senior first officer. Plus the fact that with his rising seniority as a first officer, he finally starts to have some luck on his side, getting to have the opportunities to fly long haul international routes he wants to foreign places he has never visited before.

“Oh. Congratulations.”

He is pulled into a quick hug by Jonas.

“What about that super hot guy though?”

He asks when he pulls back and considers Matteo.

It takes all willpower Matteo has in him to not groan out loud in frustration, instead settling for a dramatic eyeroll as he side eyes Jonas before turning away and staring out of the window.

There is this guy who works as a flight attendant in the same company as Matteo that he has come across numerous times in the terminals of Berlin-Tegel over the years, but has somehow never worked on the same flight with him. The guy has warm brown eyes, impeccable olive skin, a strong jaw line and beautiful curls atop his head. There is not one time when Matteo did not feel the wind knock out of him when he saw this guy.

The worst thing, in Matteo’s opinion, is the fact that it seems like the guy _sees_ Matteo too. Nine times out of ten, this mysterious guy who somehow has eluded him would notice Matteo looking as if he has telepathy and make eye contact with Matteo. There has also been once or twice when Matteo catches this guy staring at him with such an intensity that makes him shiver, before softening his gaze when he realises Matteo has caught him. They would smile at each other with a brief nod that would seem to be a polite interaction between colleagues to any untrained eye.

There is one thing that is even worse, now that Matteo considers it. More often than not, there would also be fellow flight attendants, both guys and girls, circling around this guy demanding his attention, and not that Matteo is inclined he has been paying attention, but they act like they are so close, or even flirting with this guy.

He might have _complained_ about this guy to Jonas one night last year, when he has had a few bottles too many trying to take advantage of his holidays, and the fact that he did not have to worry about having a hangover or having to be sober enough to fly. The topic has since then popped up in conversations with Jonas numerous times, even when Matteo is not expecting it.

“There is nothing there, Jonas. I swear to god…”

“You don’t believe in god, so that means nothing. You haven’t even talked to him yet, so what do you know? Both you and I know you need and want someone in your life.”

Matteo sighs. It is not like Jonas is wrong. He is halfway on the descent towards the third decade of his life, and he is still single. Granted, he has had dated two or three guys here and there, but that is all he has to show for, just dates. Things has never gone serious for him, and his job with him often on the move definitely does not help matters. That is just the way life is for him, so what can he do?

It is also not like Matteo does not want to talk to that guy and get to know him, but luck is really not on his side and he just has not had the opportunity all along. Jonas would argue otherwise, but where is the opportunity for Matteo when you only see a person at the terminal, often surrounded by colleagues and travellers? He cannot exactly just go up to the guy and try to start the conversation, can he? Nor can he be like a kid in high school and offer a joint in hopes of him accepting it and talk to him that way.

He just shrugs and dismisses the topic the one way he knows the best.

“He probably has someone anyway. So many people circle around him.”

Before Jonas can even get a word in, he switches the topic back to Jonas and his work.

“So when is your boss becoming Chancellor?”

* * *

Moving to Frankfurt is not exactly ideal for him, as he leaves behind his friends, his roommates and his mother, as well as the city he has lived in since he was born, but it is not exactly possible to commute halfway across the country for his job, when his company only flies long haul international flights out of Frankfurt and Munich. As someone who works in aviation, it is weird, that the capital city of his country is not a hub for air travel for what is effectively the national carrier, but at the same time, given the city’s history as well as the fact that Berlin is closer to Poland than most of the population in the country, it is not that surprising. There is also the fact that the purported new airport for Berlin next to Schönefeld is still under construction 15 years on from it was originally slated to open. He figures it is not going to happen anyway.

The actual logistics of moving to Frankfurt is not too bad, as he just shoved all his belongings into boxes, hired a van and drove to his new small rented flat near the airport and unloaded his things there. Even after he unpacked, the place is a bit barren, but he does not really mind too much as it is just the same as it has been before anyway. The most important things he has are his computer, gaming console, and collection of games, all of which are properly set up already. As for the barren shelves and walls, maybe they will get better if he starts bringing back mementoes from his destinations, or better yet, if he gets someone in his life.

* * *

One of the main issues for Matteo, if you can call it one, is that he is not a chatty person outside of communications essential for flying, especially if he is working with a pilot he has never met before, which is an often occurrence. It does not really bother himself, but for some fellow pilots, being trapped in a metal tube in the sky with a fellow pilot who does not engage in meaningless conversation to pass the time while they fly is difficult. Particularly on an overnight twelve-hour flight to the southern hemisphere. They are now enroute to Cape Town, as Matteo is partnered with a captain in his thirties for this trip. He focuses on monitoring the dials and screens on the flight deck, as the captain is having his late-night dinner, Matteo having volunteered to have it later, as they often do so to avoid food poisoning, as well as the fact that Matteo’s Italian stomach is not really a big fan of plane food. The captain is making light conversation with Matteo, which he is not too opposed to, as he occasionally gives the right replies and sounds to signal to the captain he is engaging in the conversation, though he mostly lets him do the talking. He is quietly thankful that his partner is not one of those obnoxious people that talks incessantly or seem like they will die if you do not engage in a conversation with them.

The plane makes its way across the Mediterranean and the Sahara in the dark, then down the west coast of Africa, crossing the equator along the way, as they fly towards the southern tip of the continent. Somewhere along the way, high up in the sky, the sun starts to let its face show across the horizon high above the clouds. They are already in the boundaries of South Africa, as they start to make their descent into Cape Town. As they break through the clouds, the Table Mountain appears to Matteo’s right. He has no time to admire the sight though, he has a plane to land.

“You have control.” The captain passes the control over to Matteo.

“I have control.” He affirms.

The captain takes charge of radio contact as well as crosschecking while they go through the landing checklist. Matteo controls the plane to line up with the runway. Next thing he knows, they are touching down and headed for the gate.

“What are your plans here?”

Matteo shrugs, as he unbuckles himself from his seat. “Probably just walking around and recharge a bit. We do need the rest for the return leg on Friday.”

“You don’t wanna join us?”

Matteo knows some pilots and crew would make good use of their short layovers to hit the bars and have fun, or _have fun_ if they could get lucky, maybe even with fellow crew members. But Matteo does not think this is his scene, as he would much rather just walk around for a bit to see something special, probably buy some mementoes and maybe stay in his hotel room to play or watch something on his laptop.

“Nah, you guys should have fun though.” He says, as the captain gets up from his seat to open the door and start chatting with a stewardess on the other side, as passengers are getting off of the plane onto the jet bridge.

They all get off the plane, get through customs and immigration together and head for the hotel. He parts way with the crew members at the hotel and heads for a restaurant nearby in search of some real food. After his late lunch, he heads back to the hotel to catch up on sleep.

* * *

On his free day, he set off to explore some places around the city, like the colourful neighbourhood of Bo-Kaap, and standing at the foot of the Table Mountain to look at it, knowing he would never have the athleticism to climb it, nor is he interested in doing so as well. He has also gone to visit the Castle of Good Hope, which is the country’s oldest surviving building. He does not know nor care where the crew has gone, but he has not seen them since parting ways with them the day before. He just goes to find a bottle or two of wine for him to bring home, before he calls it a (relatively) early night.

* * *

He stayed in the hotel until he had to make his way back to the airport and met with the rest of the crew there, being the earliest of all of them. The flight back is an uneventful twelve hours, and they land back in Frankfurt back in the winter weather in pitch black at six in the morning.

He takes a bit longer and drags his feet in the process of going through the loops and hoops to get back into the country and hangs out at the café at the airport to get his breakfast sandwich and morning coffee.

He is minding his business, and plans to head back to his apartment to rest when he is done, but as he idly raise his head and look out of the window of the café aimlessly, he sees a familiar figure in his company’s uniform walking past, with a small suitcase pulled after him. He can recognise that jaw line, that olive skin and those impressive curls from anywhere.

He disappears as soon as he sees him.

Somehow, even when he has moved cities, the guy that Jonas says Matteo is _thirsting_ after is still haunting him, and somehow Matteo still has never worked with him.

He curses his luck.


	2. Tokyo

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Maybe it is a writer thing or maybe it isn't but sometimes I look at this and think "it is a bit weird". On the life side, if any of you are interested, I have been working overtime and am gonna work this weekend as well for a tight deadline so I have yet again not written. It is frustrating.
> 
> Anyway, enjoy!

Matteo quickly finds himself becoming more accustomed to the change of pace to flying long haul flights. When he is home, he sometimes Skypes with his friends, or immerse himself in video games and cooking if he does not feel like talking to people. On rare occasions he feels like going out, he would go into the city center to do some shopping, or more often, just walk aimlessly around and getting food before heading back. He starts to populate the empty shelf on the wall with little mementoes or souvenirs he has bought from his flight destinations. Some of them bear some cultural significance, while some others are just meaningless decorations, and he might have been ripped off buying some of those things, but he does not mind that too much anyway.

He checks in at the airport for another flight for the week. He has flown to the far-east several times already, but this will be his first flight to Japan, both personally and as a pilot. He meets up with another captain and the relief pilot, both of whom he has never worked with before going into the usual routine of medical checks, flight data analysis, inspecting the plane for any defects and going through various checklists to get the plane prepared for the journey eastwards.

They have started relatively early, so by the time they are running through checklists and flight details, it is still not yet time for the passengers to board. Matteo is idly checking the weather reports for the flight when someone knocks on the opened flight deck door. He turns around to look and is greeted by a familiar face that has eluded him for so long.

The warm brown eyes widen minutely when they meet Matteo’s, though the guy quickly directs his attention back to the captain and introduces himself.

“Hi, I’m David. Cabin Service Manager for this trip.” He shakes his hand with the captain.

“Jens.”

Matteo will not admit it, but he forgot that the captain’s name is Jens.

The guy – David – then turns his attention to Matteo once again and extends his hand. Matteo shakes it, and feels like a jolt of electricity has just ran through both of their bodies. David’s hands are warm, and his grip is firm. Matteo slaps his mind down before they go wild with various thoughts.

“Matteo.” He manages to introduce himself without stuttering.

Their hands also probably stay linked just a tiny bit longer than it is socially acceptable.

Matteo tunes out as Jens briefs David on things about the flight out to Tokyo, as he has already run through it numerous times already. The next thing he knows, David is back out into the cabin and passengers start boarding, alongside various ground staff popping in to the flight deck to hand over things like the fuel slip and maintenance logbook, as well as keeping them posted about boarding.

A few moments later, the doors to the plane and to the flight deck are closed and locked, and Matteo knows it is time to focus on the job at hand.

“Good evening ground, HansaAir 716 Heavy at Alpha 25, requesting push and start.”

* * *

David cannot believe, of all places, he runs into and actually works the same flight as this blond-haired guy with piercing blue eyes on a long flight out to Asia. The plane starts moving, as they depart from the terminal building.

The PA comes on, and a soft voice – Matteo’s – comes through the system.

“Good evening everyone, I’m First Officer Florenzi, Captain Schulz and I would like to welcome you on board of HansaAir 716 to Tokyo Haneda Airport. Today’s flight will take us eleven hours, and we are number four in the queue to take off, so it won’t be another ten or fifteen minutes until we are in the air. Meanwhile, we hope you’ll sit back, relax and enjoy.”

David would be lying if he says he is not mesmerised by that soft voice with a slight mumble, and it takes a moment before he snaps out of it and goes on the PA to urge passengers to watch the safety instruction video shown on their screen, knowing full well that at least half of them would not pay attention to it.

He straps himself onto the jump seat by the flight deck door when the captain comes on the PA briefly to tell the crew to prepare for takeoff.

* * *

Working in this industry, and with people, does a lot of things for David. For one, his skin gets thicker as he deals with more problematic people. Airplanes, or air travel in general, is a wonderful thing – it reduces perfectly capable adults into beings that struggle to be reasonable or to follow simple instructions, so David has had his fair share experience with passengers being problematic and dealing with them while still having to be civil and not letting it get to him. His life experience dealing with shitty people certainly helped as well, but he is in a way glad that he faces problematic people much more because they are bad customers, rather than that they are bad people who have issues with who he is.

Working the business class cabin, as he would as the lead flight attendant for the flight certainly is a cause for this as well, as he is now trying to placate the airline’s high paying customers and frequent fliers while there is a baby going off crying their lungs out in the economy section, not even an hour into the flight. It is rare, but this time he actually genuinely understands why his customers are complaining, because he cannot help but feel the beginnings of a splitting headache just from the cries spreading all the way up here from the back. He gives the most understanding smile he can to the latest complaining passenger.

“Please give me a minute, I will personally go and see what we can do about it.”

If he is honest though, there is little he can do. He can hardly chug a baby off the plane while they are cruising thirty-thousand feet up in the air, can he?

He navigates himself around his colleagues pushing the catering carts down the aisle and serving late night dinner to the passengers. They are serving options of some sort of fish or chicken, not that David is fussed about it, as he has packed several servings of filling sandwiches that he could munch on in the galley when he has the time. Airplane food are not particularly appetising, even when you get _better_ food as a crew. You are bound to get tired of them when you fly on a regular basis.

Eventually he gets to the screaming baby and he raises his eyebrows at the sight. The baby is just left alone, crying in the crib, while their parents are acting like nothing is happening and ignoring the baby. Everyone around them are glaring at them. He sighs internally and approaches them.

“Excuse me ma’am, can you please maybe try to sooth the baby for a bit? It is disturbing other passengers.”

The lady looks like she wants to argue, but when she turns around and sees the various glares sent her way, she deflates, stands up and scoops the baby out of the crib. The baby stops crying almost immediately.

It takes all the willpower David has to not roll his eyes right there and then.

“Thank you.” He shows his sweetest of smiles, knowing that it works on people more than nine times out of ten, even if it is as insincere as it gets.

He gets back to the front galley to work with the business class passengers, helping out with serving the meals and also opening two bottles of wine for two different passengers. He would never understand what the appeal is to have wine in flight.

* * *

He calls the flight deck after he pulls out the meal cart for the flight crew in the galley.

“Hi.” A soft voice, not any less mesmerising, comes through on the intercom.

“Uh…hey Matteo.” He stutters out, and slaps himself mentally. David is usually very smooth with all the people he comes across and uses that to his advantage, and somehow, this blond and pale guy with piercing blue eyes, a soft voice and apparently Italian is making him lose all his powers and trip over his words.

He takes a breath to compose himself. “We are ready to serve dinner. Do you or Jens want to go first?”

“One moment.”

He hears Matteo’s voice a bit in the distance as he asks the captain about dinner, then he is back talking to David.

“I’ll go first.” Matteo says.

David skims the list for pilots’ meals and sees _lasagna _in Matteo’s column. How Italian can that get?

“Well, half-Italian.” Matteo replies _in German_, and only then does David realise he mused that out loud.

He lets out an embarrassed chuckle, “Be up in a minute.”

He takes Matteo’s desired meal from the cart and walks up to the flight deck door. What he does not expect, is someone actually opening the door for him, but the door swings open and Matteo is standing right in front of him. David can see the right seat is now occupied by the relief pilot.

“I’ll be going upstairs,” he motions at the steps up to the pilots’ rest area, “Can you give me a hand and hand the food to me?”

“Sure.”

David tries to not stare at Matteo’s ass as he climbs up to the pod above the business class seats, then he takes a step up and raises the serving tray with Matteo’s meal on it to him. Their hands touch again when Matteo takes the tray from David, and he has to ignore how warm his hands feel where they touched Matteo’s.

“Thank you.” Matteo says from above.

“You bet.” He says as he quickly makes his exit from the flight deck, not wanting to disrupt the pilots’ work in there.

* * *

David has had his brief nap in the cabin crew quarters above the economy section and has returned to work in the cabin. The rest of the flight went without too much out of the ordinary, the baby no longer screaming their lungs out, and no passengers particularly agitated. He went into the flight deck several times to serve breakfast to the pilots one by one, and one time while David was in there, Matteo pointed out the sun rising above the horizon to him at daybreak like an excited kid when they were somewhere over Siberia, which made David’s heart melt a little.

It is undoubtedly a long trip, but before he knows it, they are already over the Sea of Japan and nearing their destination. He tries not to zone out when Matteo’s voice comes over the PA system again.

“Good morning, we will start our descent into Tokyo Haneda Airport and land in around thirty minutes. The local time in Tokyo is 11:31. It is sunny and the temperature is 7 degrees Celsius. We should arrive without delay and once again, thank you for flying with us.”

David goes on the PA to remind passengers to get ready for the landing, before his crew goes down the aisles to make sure the instructions are complied with. Soon after, the plane touches the ground and rolls its way up to the terminal. He stands at the front of the aircraft to bid farewell to the passengers and is again greeted with Matteo staring at him like he has done multiple times before in Tegel Airport, and also when he brought Matteo’s dinner some hours ago.

He takes his chance and asks a question that he has been mulling over since realising he is on the same flight with _that guy with piercing blue eyes_.

“Do you want to go out together?”

Matteo blinks for a few moments, and David starts to want to back away and pretend he did not ask, but then Matteo snaps back into action and nods, maybe a bit eagerly. “Sure.”

* * *

The crew are put up in a hotel at the airport, so they quickly check themselves in. Matteo quickly unpacks his suitcase and changes back out of his uniform into loose clothes that he feels much more comfortable in and stretches. The bed seems tempting, but for one, he should not screw up his sleep schedule for the flight back in a few days, and for two David more or less asked him out for lunch. Jonas will not let him hear the end of it if he knows he passed up on _the guy he thirsted after for so long_. Okay, if he is being real for a moment, Jonas will not let go of this for very long either way. He just wants to convince himself he should do this and not chicken out on it.

He pockets his key card and opens the door, intending to go over to David’s down the corridor to see if he is ready, but his breath actually _hitches_, when he sees David leaning against the opposite wall to Matteo’s door, dressed in a pair of dark skinny jeans, grey turtleneck with a tan overcoat over it. He is also holding a beanie in his hand. Meanwhile Matteo is just dressed in a huge burgundy hoodie with at least two layers of t-shirts underneath it and a pair of baggy jeans that is already on the less baggy end on the spectrum of jeans that he possesses. He feels a bit hot under the collar and also a bit _underdressed_ when compared to David.

David raises his eyebrows. “Won’t you feel cold dressed like that?”

Matteo, being a mess like he is, actually lifts up the hem of his hoodie to show the layers of clothes underneath it to David. David’s eyes grows comically wide for a second before he sees what is happening.

“Thought you’re gonna strip in front of me for a second.” David quips, as he motions for Matteo to start walking.

Matteo follows but ducks his head, a blush forming from the embarrassment, “Sorry…”

“Not that I minded that a single bit.” David leans closer and whispers, his voice at least an octave lower. Matteo _shudders_ at that and nearly trips over himself.

David turns back to Matteo after he has pressed the call button for the elevator with a smirk. Matteo rubs his face to compose himself and lets out a confused laugh.

_Did David just flirt with him?_

* * *

They took the metro out to the city center together, as David is intent on bringing him somewhere for lunch. He told Matteo that he actually researched for the best places to eat and visit, which astounds Matteo who usually just wanders aimlessly and looks at restaurants for way too long to sate his demanding taste buds.

They settle down at a sushi restaurant in central Tokyo that is a bit out of the way.

“So…what is it about this place?” Matteo asks, as he skims through the menu. He is low key glad that the menu is complete with pictures and (occasionally poorly) translated English, else he would be at a total loss of what he is about to order.

“Well, sushi is one of my favourites, and apparently this place serves good sushi.”

Matteo hums, as both of them try to decide on what they are to order. He is mildly surprised when David tries to communicate with the waiter in what he assumes is Japanese mixed with English here and there. The waiter seems amazed at it even when David tells Matteo it is a poor attempt at it afterwards.

Matteo has to wonder how he has never tried sushi and sashimi before this, and he has to admit it is very delicious. He really missed out a lot on this tasty cuisine. He tells David as much, who lights up when Matteo tells him he now share the passion of sushi with him.

“Well, I have the best taste.” He says jokingly, crossing his arms and holds his head high like he is really proud of himself.

“Well do you?” Matteo plays along.

David not so subtly checks Matteo out, before tilting his head and says “I think I do.”

Matteo is absolutely floored and does not have a good comeback to that, so he settles for taking a sip or three out of the cup of green tea to try and hide how affected he is by David.

David acts like nothing has happened, as he pops another piece of sushi into his mouth.

“We’ve seen each other a lot in Berlin.” He says like he is wondering, while chewing on the food.

Matteo hums in agreement. There is no point in denying the fact anyway, both of them have their fair share of staring at each other fleetingly when they crossed paths.

“I assume you’re now based in Frankfurt?” David asks. Matteo thinks the underlying implication is ‘_is that why I don’t see you around anymore?_’

“Hm yeah. I usually fly international trips these days.”

“I usually do Europe trips. It’s more regimented. Allows me to do more things at home.” David explains.

“Why are you on my flight then?”

“Am I unwanted on your flight?” David asks, looking as innocent as it gets.

“Well, that’s not what I mean.” Matteo splutters.

A smirk ghosts on David’s face, and Matteo realises he is very much wrapped around David’s little finger.

“Sometimes it is nice to take advantage of these long trips with a longer layover to explore a bit. Also I love sushi, so Japan sounds nice.”

They keep on chatting about their experiences flying around, and talk about how outsiders think they get to travel a lot when in fact they do not really get to explore often unless they are on long flights like these, where they can take advantage of their scheduled layover day or two to explore briefly while trying not to compromise their rest for the return flight.

* * *

Late in the afternoon, they go visit several touristy places like the gardens of the Imperial Palace and the Sensōji Temple, both with the flair of traditional Japanese culture which are eye openers for both of them. They also see the Tokyo Skytree from afar. They also go for a stroll in the Ueno district in the Ameyoko market street. By the time they get to Shinjuku, it is already late in the evening, and they settle into a ramen restaurant in Kabukicho. The noodle and base are both rich in flavour, and David tells him it is much more delicious than the ramen he got to eat in Berlin.

They somehow find themselves sat in a gay bar a few streets over after the dinner, and Matteo is at this point unsure how they ended up there in the first place after a few beers. One thing that works in Matteo’s favour, particularly given he is with David, is that they are in the outdoor sitting of a small bar, so he does not feel overwhelmed as easily when compared to being in a cramped space with a lot of people.

Matteo is well on his way to be drunk, and with some drunken courage, he leans across the little round table they are sit at and says to David lowly, “You’re the hottest guy I have ever seen.”

David’s breath hitches, though he quickly recovers with a smirk, as he leans back a bit and crosses his arms with a head tilt again. “Is that so?” He asks playfully.

Matteo’s head hits the table as he lets out a quiet groan.

David pats his arm.

“Come on, we should head back, you’re drunk.”

Matteo moves to protest, but a strong arm winds its way around his back and holds him up with a firm grip, pressed tightly against David’s side, and words stop working in Matteo’s brain, so he stays silent as David navigates them to the metro station and bringing them both back to the airport hotel.

* * *

David tries not to think how he is effectively touching Matteo’s ass as he tries to pull Matteo’s wallet out of his back pocket to retrieve the key card for Matteo’s room. Matteo, by the way, is uselessly leaning against the wall next to the door and barely conscious.

He finally succeeds in opening the door and more or less dumps Matteo onto the bed, then puts Matteo’s wallet on the bedside table and plugs his phone to charge.

Just as he is about to move away from the bed, Matteo reaches out and grabs David’s hand wordlessly, with his eyes still closed.

David sighs, “Come on Matteo, work with me. I’m going to grab some painkillers for you.”

Matteo, surprisingly, complies. David pockets Matteo’s keycard and goes back to his room to get a few painkillers. When he goes back to Matteo’s room, he is already fast asleep. David places the meds on the bedside table with a glass of water, and also placing the keycard with the Matteo’s wallet, before retreating out of the room quietly.

He pulls out his phone to type out a message as he re-enters his own room.

* * *

Matteo wakes up feeling very hungover. He feels around the bed before opening his eyes and sees his own suitcase in the corner.

That’s good. At least he is in his own hotel room.

He rubs his face, before he realises he is still in his outdoor clothes from yesterday. He sits up on the bed, feeling dizzy momentarily from the sudden movement, before seeing a glass of water and some painkillers on the bedside table. He automatically pops two in his mouth and washes them down. He sees there is a message waiting for him on his phone, and also belatedly realises it is already lunchtime when he sees the time on his phone.

_David_

“Hey. Enjoyed the day out yesterday. Take a few painkillers for your hangover and text me if you’re up to hanging out tomorrow – David” – 01:21

He wonders how David got his number, before some vague memories of him asking for David’s number while at the bar surface. He groans and hopes he has not made a fool of himself last night. Judging by the fact that David texted him, he hopes it was not too bad. He steps into the shower to wash himself first thing, trying to wake himself up better.

He texts David back when he is out of the shower.

_Matteo_

“Woke up not long ago, what about we meet around 17?” – 14:12

The reply comes almost instantly.

_David_

“Sure. Let’s meet at Ginza.”

* * *

This is how Matteo finds himself in one of the more modern, trendy and _crowded_ parts of Tokyo where they are surrounded by department stores and stores selling chic clothing in the likes of Ginza. David appeared as if magically next to him when he was figuring out how in the world he would find him in the scrum of tourists and shoppers there. They walk down the main street as they mostly window-shopped at different stores, both luxury brands and what Matteo calls the _peasant_ brands, which elicited a surprised laugh out of David. They then move on to Takeshita, which is more of a chic place, and somehow ends up in a burger fast food place there.

“I don’t have you down as a fast food guy, to be honest.” Matteo says, as they sit down at a table with their orders.

“Well, I’m not. But what’s the harm of trying something new?” David says with a quick head tilt.

Matteo thinks the head tilt is doing something to his mind, as every time David does it seems to be a challenge to Matteo, and he sure as hell is losing.

Somehow Japan seems to even have better burgers than other places Matteo has been to.

* * *

They find themselves at Tokyo Tower, and they look out from the viewing deck into the plethora of lights lighting up the nightscape of Tokyo, but not before David has taken enough pictures from afar of the stunning scene of the tower standing above the surrounding buildings, and also one for each of them when they found a set of stairs that perfectly framed the tower in the background.

“It’s quite stunning, isn’t it?” David muses as he looks out into the distance.

Matteo looks over to David and sees how the faint light from outside reflects on his face, accentuating his features.

“Yeah.” He breathes. Though he is not sure if he is agreeing that the view is stunning, or if David is stunning.

They hang out at the tower for a few more moments before David insists they should go back to the hotel given Matteo has a plane to fly and David has hundreds of people to take care of in the early afternoon.

* * *

The flight back is uneventful, aside from the customary one or two problematic passengers that are unreasonably demanding towards some of the flight attendants. David again goes into the flight deck several times to deliver meals for the pilots and exchanging brief glances with Matteo the times when he is on the controls.

The flight lands at half past six in Frankfurt, and the next thing David knows he is seeing off some four hundred passengers from the plane. He goes back to the rear of the aircraft to retrieve his suitcase, and sees Matteo waiting up for him when he gets to the end of the jet bridge.

“Do you have somewhere to be? You can crash at my place if you want.” Matteo offers.

David is endeared by the offer. Hell, he is even tempted to accept the offer and spend more time with Matteo, but should he?

The head wins out, in the end.

“I’m hitching a ride on another flight up to Berlin, actually. Thanks for the offer though.” He says genuinely.

He hates that Matteo’s smile falters a little bit.

“Oh, getting home is good. The offer still stands though, if you ever need it.” Matteo says, as they stop at the start of the corridor down to the transfer desk.

David pats Matteo’s forearm, “Hope we’ll meet again soon.” He says with a small smile, before turning and walking down the corridor to catch his ride back home, leaving Matteo to do his immigration procedures alone.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Let me know your thoughts!


	3. New York

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oops this came late because I have been pulling quite some overtime recently <del>plus having some personal gay panic on the side</del> but anyways we're here - enjoy :)
> 
> Oh yeah rating has changed.

David zones out as he takes a break on the side, staring at the steam rising from his cup of hot tea. He snaps out of it when Leonie swipes her hand in front of his face, blinking to refocus on Leonie.

“What’s on your mind, Romeo?”

David rolls his eyes at that, with Leonie addressing him as the character in the play.

“What’s up, tree number five?”

Leonie lets out an offended shriek at that, and Sara is wrapping an arm around her a blink later, pulling her against her side.

“What’s wrong now?” Sara asks amusedly.

“Well, Juliet, she’s offended that I called her tree number five.” David says slyly. He has to duck when Leonie throws hands at him.

“Don’t think you can get out of answering my question like that. What are you brooding about?” Leonie demands.

“Hm, are you brooding, David?” Sara joins in with the questioning.

David shrugs, as he takes another sip out of his mug and redirects his attention back to his script for the play, hoping he could escape the questioning from his friends.

“We’ll know eventually.” Leonie says devilishly, as she is hauled away by Sara.

Truth be told, he is still mulling if turning down Matteo and flying back here for the rehearsal for the play is the right decision. Then again, he does not know what would have happened, nor what he would have wanted from Matteo, while he knows that both he and Laura take this play very seriously. It is Laura’s first play as the manager of this theatre, and David has always been a theatre kid, so he thinks it would take a lot for him to even think of jeopardising any of this.

Someone slides down to the floor against the wall next to David at this moment. It’s Laura, he finds out, as he turns over to look.

“Is it that boy again?” She asks. David may have talked about it to Laura more than once over the years, about a certain person who works for the same airline as David, and who he sees from time to time at the airport, who seemed to have disappeared in recent months.

“Matteo.”

“So there is now a name to the face?” Laura’s eyebrows shoot up. Judging by how David has told her that it probably would never happen, she is probably surprised that David has talked to him.

“He was the first officer for my trip to Tokyo.” David says with a sigh.

Laura whistles next to him. He reaches out to punch her shoulder. “Nothing happened.”

“I didn’t say anything happened.” She says innocently, though looking at David with a face that says she knows David is bullshitting.

He shrugs.

“We hung out.”

“And?”

“He offered his place for me to crash if I need it.”

“And?”

“Well, I’m here. So what do you think.” He deadpans.

“The fact that you’re mulling over it says a lot about it.” Laura says, as she gets up.

“Come on folks, let’s continue with our rehearsal!” Laura commands.

* * *

“You seem to be in deep.” Laura observes, when she sits back at the dining table in David’s apartment, having just seen off Leonie and Sara.

David shrugs again.

David’s game is not bad, and that is an understatement. Many people he comes across fall under his spell and want a piece of him, and David finds it fun. The feeling of being wanted is something else, but he rarely feels something for them. However, there has been this guy who he has seen around the airport for some time, who always _sees_ David, and David always sees the loneliness in those piercing blue eyes of his.

Matteo, whose face is always so open with honesty over the few days they worked and hung out together, showing that he _wants_ David, and _wants_ something from David. And David finds himself gravitating towards him.

“I suppose you’re not wrong.” He concedes.

“So how is this boy…Matteo is it?”

David rolls his eyes but also has a small smile. “Soft. Easily flustered. Clingy. Wants me.”

Laura nearly chokes from her cup of tea.

“He what now?”

David shrugs nonchalantly.

“Do you want him though?” She asks, though as an afterthought she adds, “Well I think I know the answer.”

“Yeah. Maybe I do.”

Laura seems satisfied that David is honest about his feelings for once. She finishes off her cup of tea.

“Text me if you happen to work with him again. I’ll call off the rehearsal.”

“If that ever happens again.” David shrugs.

* * *

For the following weeks, David is back on the short haul schedules hopping from city to city with multiple flights in a day. He does not get to see much, if any, during these shorter-than-a-day layovers if he ends his day outside Berlin, but the upside is he can be home more often, and he can plan out what he can do when he is at home, be it going to rehearsal for _Romeo and Juliet_ or doing some exploring, drawing, photography and whatnot.

At the end of the month, when he is going on the scheduling system to _bid_ for his trips next month again, he figures he can do with another long trip to throw some variety into his life with short haul flights. New York seems like an interesting choice, the concrete jungle where dreams are made of, some people call it. The fact that this trip starts from Frankfurt definitely had no bearing on his decision. Hell, there are dozens of flights out of Frankfurt to everywhere in the world, one must be kidding themselves if they think luck is on their side. It took David years to just know Matteo’s name, why would that change anytime soon?

* * *

When the schedules for the month comes out, David can still not help but feel a tinge of disappointment in his chest seeing that none of the pilots he is flying with is Matteo Florenzi. He usually does not even check who he is working with.

* * *

David again hitches a ride on the jump seat on one of the hourly flights from Berlin to Frankfurt, and goes through the passport control, customs and other procedures on his own and checks in with the company at the crew lounge for the trip out to New York.

He sits down in the corner and pulls out his sketchbook from the side pocket of his suitcase and starts sketching something from memory. It might be something he has seen recently walking around Berlin in the parks, though he cannot point his finger to what it exactly is. This is how David rolls these days anyway, sketching whatever that comes to mind without much planning, just pouring his brain onto the paper.

Somewhere along the lines, someone slides into the seat opposite his. He does not pay much attention at first, though when he pauses his drawing, raising his head to ponder how to proceed, he sees who the person is opposite him.

It is Matteo, his elbow resting on the armrest, and his head resting on his palm, looking out of the window at the tarmac. The early rays of sunlight from the early winter morning shining onto Matteo’s face, and David knows what he is drawing next. There is a more pressing issue though, so he places his pencil and sketchbook back into his suitcase and look at Matteo, who still seems lost in his head.

“Hey.”

Matteo’s head snap back towards David and locking eyes with him. A small smile plays at the corner of his lips.

“Hey.”

He likes Matteo’s smile.

“Where are you flying to?” He enquires lightly, like it is offhanded small talk when it is anything but. Not that it helps anything other than for his own suffering, but he wants to know how close he got. He does not believe in fate, and maybe that’s fate’s way to say a big fuck you to David’s face.

“Oh. New York.” Matteo says with a smirk like he knows something David doesn’t.

It takes seconds until it registers in his brain that Matteo just told him that he is also flying to New York.

He stills for a few seconds before he knows how to react.

“You are flying to New York too?” he asks with his eyebrows knit together.

“11 AM.”

That is David’s flight. Not that he is inclined to admit to Matteo he looked up who he is flying with to find out if he is working with Matteo, but he was sure Matteo is not on his flight.

Either David’s face gave away his surprise or confusion, or that Matteo just happens to supply the answer to his questions that he was not even going to ask, but Matteo speaks up again.

“A friend in the scheduling asked if I could swap. I was going to fly out to Toronto.”

“Well, my pleasure to work with you again.” David says with a smile.

“Gotta say, knowing who is working in the cabin sealed the deal for me.” Matteo says while messing up his hair and averting his eyes.

David’s stomach leaps at this, and his smile grows into a confident smirk. “Is that so?”

“Well I hope there’s this certain someone who can bring me to places again.” Matteo says coyly, though his eyes are once again locked with David’s and looking at him so softly.

“Is that certain someone nothing more a tour guide to you?” David asks with a head tilt and raised eyebrows.

“No.” There is a tinge determination laced in Matteo’s soft voice, and it surprises David that he actually gets a straight answer. Matteo is much more open than David to actually say out loud about what he wants, he thinks.

“We can go somewhere.” David settles on this as his response.

A smile blooms on Matteo’s face, and David’s heart flutters at how beautiful he is like this. Though before either of them can say anything more, they are joined by several cabin crew as well as the captain. David has worked with a few of these people before, and he is quite sure one of the girls has a crush on him. Between catching up with the people as well as familiarising with those he has not worked with before, Matteo is whisked away by the captain of the flight for their pre-flight work.

* * *

The trip across the Atlantic was mostly an easy affair, as Matteo and Johanna, the captain for the flight, left much of the flying to the autopilot until they near the East Coast of the States, when there is a huge storm and they had to hand-fly the plane to ride out the turbulence. But the trip is largely uneventful, as they land successfully land in stormy conditions and arrive on time.

He is in a relatively good mood, until Johanna opens the door and Matteo sees, when Johanna moves out of the way after a quick _Ciao_, one of the stewardesses standing super close to David and talking to him. David, though, moves away from her quickly when she sees Matteo coming out of the flight deck.

“Ready to go?” David asks, as he gestures towards the jet bridge.

“Yeah.”

David moves to walk ahead, though he grimaces when he moves to pull his little suitcase that is already set by the cabin door.

“What’s wrong?” He asks worriedly, automatically reaching out and touching David’s hand before he knows what he is doing.

“It’s nothing.” David dismisses as he moves to pull his suitcase with his other hand and steps off the plane. Matteo follows and catches up, with his travel bag slung around his shoulder, walking side by side with David.

“Tell me.”

“I sprained my wrist on the cart in the turbulence.”

Matteo cannot help but feel a tinge of guilt inside him. He knows, rationally there is little he could have done differently that could have helped David to avoid the situation, but it does not change the fact that David got hurt in his plane.

“Hey it’s alright. It’s not your fault.”

Matteo smiles a little at David and extends his free hand.

“At least let me handle your suitcase for you.”

David lets him.

* * *

On their way out to the hotel they are staying for the layover, Matteo stops at a pharmacy and picks up a wrist brace for David, despite David saying he does not need one. Matteo says nothing about it when he sees David wearing it, coming out of his hotel room in his own clothes, meeting him in the hallway. It is already way past lunchtime. David is still dressed so impeccably like the last time, and Matteo may have packed some better clothes this time round just to match up better with David. Seeing David, plus the way David quickly checked him out just makes him hot under the collar. He needs to do something to divert his own attention away from the tension.

“I’m starving.” He tells David.

“Well, let’s see where we can go.” David tells him, while pulling out his phone and starting reading off restaurants from it, telling Matteo to pick one he likes.

They end up at a middle eastern place, or so he and David thought. In fairness, it is a middle eastern place, but some of the things they have on offer have a distinctly American or international flair, like burgers and mandarin fried rice.

Settling for the more traditionally middle eastern options, they settle for some sort of gyros served on rice. Matteo also contemplated fries, but David stopped him from doing so, telling him he has a better idea “for later”. The food is decent, though admittedly a bit different from how they taste to the Turkish places they have in Germany, notably greasier, and the servings are much more _generous_ to say the least.

They wander up north after finishing their late lunch, and while walking through a park somewhere in Queens, they come across a huge monument of the Earth, which David tells him is the Unisphere. They then stop by a fastfood place nearby, with David heading off to buy something.

He comes back with a serving of fries and a cup of milkshake. Matteo grabs a few and starts munching on it, though he stops dead in his tracks and stares at David like he has grown two heads, when he sees what David is doing.

David just dipped a fry into the milkshake and then popped it into his mouth.

David notices him staring and looks at him amusedly. “What?”

“You didn’t just…” Matteo mutters, eyeing the cup of milkshake that David is now sipping from.

“You never tried milkshake with fries?”

“No! That sounds disgusting.”

“You have to try it!” David says, much more excited than a moment ago.

Matteo ignores him, as he grabs a few pieces of fries and pop them into his mouth.

Next thing he knows, David is sliding into the seat next to him in the booth, pressing right up against Matteo’s side and wrapping an arm behind him securely. Matteo’s brain is immediately fried with the proximity.

“Come on, Matteo.” David says playfully next to him.

Matteo just nods dumbly, not even processing what he is agreeing to.

David grabs a piece of fry and dips it in milkshake, before shoving it in Matteo’s slightly ajar mouth.

Matteo’s brain does not catch up with what is happening until he has chewed and swallowed the piece of fry, and not until David is suddenly gone from his side and is again sat opposite him, fully smirking at him.

“Do you like it?” He asks, still smirking and with a head tilt.

Matteo is not even sure what David is asking about if he likes it or not.

There is a flavour of salty clashing with sweetness in his mouth, and Matteo thinks for all his disgust towards the practice of dipping fries in milkshake, it is not too bad. Not that he would willingly do it himself if given the choice, and not that he would admit any of these when David looks so _satisfied_ with himself.

He settles for a coy, “Maybe.” And imitates David’s head tilt.

David snorts at his reply, and they continue with their mission of polishing off the fries, while David occasionally feeds Matteo a piece of milkshake-dipped fry. They joke about dumb things while doing so, with David branding Matteo a dumbass when he asked David how the ocean says hello. (How?) (It waves.) Matteo has not giggled so much for so long.

“I now have another milkshake and fries convert.” David says proudly as they walk towards the metro station.

“Fuck you, you don’t.” Matteo rebuts.

“Maybe later.” David replies without even missing a beat.

Matteo nearly trips over himself again. David cackles as he keeps walking, leaving Matteo to catch back up to him.

They first stop at a riverside park on the other side of Manhattan, looking at the impressive skyline of the city, before finding themselves inside Manhattan, surrounded by skyscrapers, as they stroll down street after street, briefly dipping into the Central Park, as well as stopping by places like the Carnegie Hall, some cathedral nearby, then stopping by Broadway, where David went in while Matteo stayed outside to take pictures of the surroundings. A few long moments later, just as Matteo is about to go in to look for David, he comes back out very excited and waved two tickets in front of his face.

“We’re watching a show tomorrow.” He says, excitement still exuding from him.

Matteo raises his eyebrows. “Okay.” He definitely has nothing against it, especially if David is so excited about it.

They continue walking towards Lower Manhattan, as they stop by Times Square and the Grand Central station, continuing to fill their phones with pictures of the bustling heart of New York. As they walk down the Sixth Avenue, they also stop by the Koreatown. They are well into the evening by the time they get there, and they eat at one of the Korean restaurants.

They then go up to the viewing deck at the Empire State Building, and marvel at the nightscape of the city that never sleeps, with bright lines emanating from buildings from near to afar, and one cannot see the end of the lights in the distance.

It is late in the night, but the city is still well lit, and they slowly walk across the Brooklyn Bridge towards Queens, making their way back to where they are staying. The undercurrent of tension between them that started before they even stepped out of the hotel is still there, though they are both apparently decidedly ignoring it.

They stop in the middle of the bridge, looking back towards Manhattan. It is a sight to behold, albeit also cold. He snuggles a little closer to David, who wraps an arm around Matteo’s waist.

“It’s a nice day out.” Matteo whispers, turning to look at David.

“Yeah?” Feeling Matteo’s gaze, David turns too and locks eyes with Matteo.

The tension is now thick in the air.

He starts to lean in, though David’s pulls slightly away. His blood runs cold. He is about to step back, when David places a hand on his forearm.

“Just one thing.”

“Hm?” Matteo hums, trying to stay composed.

“I’m trans.”

Matteo’s brain catches it perfectly well, it’s words that he is not good at, and he tries to come up with the right things to articulate what he thinks. David though, in Matteo’s silence, squares his shoulders. Before he could do anything else, Matteo catches his hand and blurts out the first thing he can think of.

“You’re a guy. And I’m gay.”

“Okay.” David smiles and tilts his head again.

Matteo leans in again, and this time David wraps his arms around his waist to pull him in. David’s lips are softer than he imagines it, as they lightly trade kisses with each other, Matteo’s hand also caressing David’s face while they do that, while David plants a foot in between Matteo’s.

* * *

They hailed a cab to get back to the hotel, and stumble into Matteo’s room, with their hands still on each other. They quickly kick off their shoes, before Matteo finds himself backed towards his bed, his legs hitting the foot of the bed. David closes in, and they are now sharing the same breath of air between them. David leans in to kiss Matteo again, while unbuttoning Matteo’s shirt with impressive speed. He steps back and lightly pushes at Matteo’s chest, who in slight disorientation, falls back onto the bed.

Next thing he knows, David is hovering above him. In a slight show of desperation, he pulls David down to kiss him again. What he did not expect though, is David grinding down at Matteo, and he groans from the friction, while David pulls away again and smirks at him. He moves to make quick work of Matteo’s trousers.

Matteo reaches up to tug at David’s turtleneck.

“You’re way too dressed.” He whines.

“Am I?” David teases, before he pulls off his turtleneck. Matteo takes this opportunity to sit back up so he is face to face with David. He sees the scars on his chest, and reaches out to touch them unconsciously, before he catches himself.

David smiles at him. “It’s okay.”

They spend the next quarter or two sat on the bed, making out with each other, with David holding his face and kissing down at him, more or less dominating the kiss while Matteo melts under him. Eventually, David starts kissing down the side of his neck while he whines softly. David then licks Matteo’s left nipple while cupping his hard on through his boxers. Matteo moans out loud.

He hides his face in the crook of David’s neck.

David coaxes him to pull back to look at him, running a hand down his arm. “Hey.”

“It’s embarrassing.” Matteo mumbles against his collarbone.

“It’s _hot_.” David says lowly against his ear.

He bites David’s collarbone lightly.

“Ow!” David lightly hits Matteo’s shoulder in surprise, while Matteo finally pulls back. “Don’t pretend to be an embarrassed vanilla when you do that.” He says accusingly.

“And you are kinky?” Matteo challenges.

“I’ll show you kinky.” David shoots back, his pupils blown wide, as he palms Matteo again. Matteo already regrets challenging David, though the train of thought is broken when David pulls Matteo out through the fly of his boxers and starts working on him. Matteo’s brain just goes blank at that, as David leans in to continue kissing him while his hands work on Matteo, slowly working up his speed, and swallowing his moans through kisses.

Matteo feels the pleasure and pressure building up from down south, though when he gets incredibly close, David lets go of him and sits back, leaning back and smirking at him.

He stares at David, whose smirk is _devilish_.

“It’s what you asked for.” David climbs forward and whispers into his ear, voice an octave lower than usual.

“David!” He moans helplessly, as David continues ignoring the one place that needs his attention the most, while he kisses his neck again and bites Matteo’s collarbone in retaliation.

* * *

When he decides he has had enough fun with Matteo’s suffering, he slowly resumes working on Matteo, and teasingly leans down to press a few kisses to _little Matteo_. He sees Matteo staring at him, his eyes full of want, when he rises to go back to kissing Matteo. This time, when Matteo is close, David does not stop, and keeps working him through it when Matteo falls apart, making a mess on his stomach and chest. David sits in front of Matteo, admiring his handiwork. Matteo is _beautiful_.

He stands, leaning down to press a kiss on Matteo’s nose, before heading into the bathroom to get a warm cloth to wipe Matteo down, and helps him out of his boxers. When he is done, he lies down next to Matteo, who turns and wraps an arm and a leg around David and kisses David’s earlobe.

David runs an arm down the side of Matteo. He is incredibly keyed up too, but he would let Matteo enjoy his afterglow for a bit first, and he would let Matteo take all the time he needs with this.

Or so he thinks. He has barely finished his thought, when Matteo whispers into his ear. “Let me pleasure you, Mr. Schreibner.” A shiver runs down his back.

He is a bit nervous about this, but he plays it off with some nonchalance. “Let’s see how you do.”

He lets Matteo pull down his jeans, before guiding Matteo’s hand under his waistband, as he guides Matteo’s hand to rub at the right places. Matteo soon gets the hang of it as Matteo mirrors what David has done not long ago, hovering above David, licking up his neck, while his hand does not stop moving. David keeps moaning lightly.

Eventually, Matteo leans in and asks quietly. “Can I take it off?”

Not trusting his words, David just nods, and lifts his hips while Matteo pulls off his underpants.

“You’re beautiful.” Matteo whispers, his eyes now raking over David’s all naked glory, his face blushy and a bit sweaty from their activities.

“Shut up and make me cum, Florenzi.” David mutters.

Matteo smiles widely as he complies. David eventually tells Matteo to insert his fingers, as David is stimulated both _inside_ and _outside_, and he climaxes as Matteo keeps rubbing and thrusting, all the while also kissing David’s jawline that Matteo seems obsessed with.

Matteo hugs David as he comes down from his high.

“Was it good?” Matteo asks quietly.

“It’s amazing.”

After a while, David sits up and tries to get out of bed. Matteo grabs his wrist and does not let him move. “Stay.”

Not that he thought Matteo would kick him out after they just had sex, but it endears him, how clingy Matteo is.

“I was just going to shower.”

In the dark, he sees Matteo’s eyes light up. “Can I join?”

“Come.” He says as he gets out of bed and into the bathroom, getting started with the shower, before he feels a pair of arms around his waist and Matteo’s chin resting on his shoulder a few moments later.

* * *

Matteo wakes up to just himself in the bed, and while his mind catches up to the happenings of the previous night, he feels a rising panic when it hits him that _David is not here with him in bed_. His eyes fly open, sitting up and about to grab his phone to look at the time, when he sees David standing at the foot of his bed, holding a paper bag and seemingly startled by Matteo’s abrupt motions. 

“Did I wake you up?” David asks, as he round the bed to place the bag on the bedside table next to Matteo after he pulls out a sandwich.

“I thought you were gone.” Matteo mumbles, his voice still laced with sleep.

David chuckles. “Well, I was. I went back to get dressed, then went out to grab us sandwiches and came back.”

Matteo swings his legs out of bed, so he is sitting on the side of the bed, and makes grabby hands at David. David complies and sits down next to him, and Matteo leans against David’s side as they both start eating their sandwiches.

“We’re going to watch a musical by the way.” David says, halfway through the sandwich.

“I remember you getting the tickets.” Matteo replies, still in the process of waking up.

“I was afraid you’ll say no to that.”

“Well, I have never been to a musical, but doesn’t hurt trying, does it?”

* * *

Part of the appeal of coming to New York for David is Broadway, so he was really excited when he managed to snag tickets for _The Lion King_ musical the day before. Even better, today happens to be a Saturday, so there is an earlier session, meaning he could pull Matteo along without compromising his sleep for the flight back the day after.

David is completely engrossed by the performance, as he is enjoying himself a lot and being extremely impressed by the choreography of the scenes and the artistry of it. When it is time for intermission, he and Matteo both stay seated in their seats. David turns over to look at Matteo.

“How do you like it?”

“I think it’s fun. I’ve never really been inside theatres watching plays or musicals, but I’m enjoying it.”

“That’s good.”

* * *

After the show, David pulls him along to some museum to look at art. Matteo does not pretend to understand art, though he does find some of the exhibits beautiful. David though, seem to really know what he is looking at, and he just follows him around looking at things.

Early in the evening, they travel back to the area near their hotel, and they eat a pizza place, where they get to witness the greasiest of pizzas they have ever witnessed, as Matteo complains under his breath in German as they eat their dinner. David just smiles and rolls his eyes fondly at him as Matteo continues to go off about Italian food being tarnished.

Without even talking about it, they both retire to Matteo’s room again for the night, watching some movie on Matteo’s laptop, before falling asleep, David spooning Matteo with an arm thrown across Matteo’s stomach securely.

* * *

They get up early in the morning and hang out idly for a while before they are due to check out. After grabbing a simple lunch at a nearby eatery, David and Matteo travel back to the airport by themselves, not even paying attention to the whereabouts of the rest of their crew, just as they have done the past few days.

They check in together at the crew area, after Matteo has looked for his _memento_ for this trip, as that is what he told David while David follows him around a bit exasperatedly. They are still the earliest among the crew though, so they sit down together in the corner and chat idly to wait for time to pass.

At one point, while Matteo is playing with his phone, David stands up to go over to the coffeemaker to see if it serves tea. When he discovers that tea is not served, he defeatedly heads back to the corner. Before he gets to Matteo though, an arm wraps its way around his waist, and someone shorter than David and _definitely not Matteo_ is in front next to David.

Sophie. The one who David thinks has a crush on him.

“Hey David! I haven’t seen you at all during the layover.”

He is not really interested in engaging in conversation with her, as he tries to extract himself from her.

“I was busy. Talk to you later, yeah?” Not that he means it a bit.

He turns back to look at Matteo, who is standing and looking at him weirdly. He takes a few steps towards Matteo, as Matteo grabs his travel bag and starts walking towards the exit. He reaches out to touch Matteo’s arm, he stops momentarily.

Matteo’s eyes are filled with _hurt_, now that he is closer and can see better, though Matteo quickly averts his eyes.

“Please don’t do this to me.” Matteo whispers.

Before David can even react, Matteo is already out of the area. He sees Matteo tapping on Johanna’s shoulder, saying something quickly and gesturing at the exit, then he is gone.

David goes back to the corner and slumps down on the seat.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Let me know your thoughts!


	4. Germany

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> In my defence, I am busy and forgetful these days. For a month straight, haven't had a weekend that I don't have to work.
> 
> Hope you enjoy though :)

David does not see Matteo when Johanna, as per the routine, briefs him about the flight, nor does he see Matteo inside the terminal. He only sees him at the gate, when he sees him in discussion with Johanna about something, and there is no way that David could get Matteo to himself.

Matteo catches his eyes for a second, but he quickly averts them and heads down the jet bridge with Johanna to get to the plane and get started with their pre-flight checks.

He bumps into Matteo in the front galley when Matteo returns from the external check, but David is not alone, and Matteo is not in the mood of interacting either, so they just brush past each other while they get on with their jobs.

When he has a moment to himself, minutes before the passengers are due to board, he leans against the wall to the galley, his healthy hand unconsciously stroking the wrist brace on his strained hand. It reminds him of how _soft_ and _gentle_ at heart Matteo is.

David cannot help but wonder, how does the weekend turn to a mess so quickly? He is secretly glad that, when he checked the allocation list for his briefing with the cabin crew, he found out that Sophie is allocated to the literal opposite end of the plane in the economy class, so he has one less headache to contend with. Do not get David wrong, she is a nice girl. It is just that there is someone David is _much more _interested in at this point in time, or over the past few months, or over the past few years, if he is honest for a moment here. And he is a bit hurt by this situation, but then again, the situation he found himself in was not the best either from an outsider’s perspective. His mind is going a mile a minute, trying to figure out what to do.

His train of thought is broken, though, as he hears footsteps coming down the jet bridge and passengers start to board the plane. He puts on his fake smile and starts welcoming people onto the plane.

* * *

The flight so far has been smooth sailing, which is in stark contrast to Matteo’s mood, which is a bit stormy to say the least. He is staring intensely at the displays and gauges, having handed the plane over to autopilot nearly an hour ago and recently finished with running through the safety procedures in the event of unlikely emergencies. He is interrupted from the stare down, though, by a call through the intercom from the cabin. He switches his headset over to pick it up.

“Hey.” It’s David, sounding tentative.

“Hey.” He parrots, though it comes out short and clipped.

David stays silent for a beat. “Can we start distributing meals?”

His eyes flick across the displays and the weather radar. The skies are much clearer than Matteo’s head.

“Yeah.” He says.

“Okay, thanks.” David says, though he hesitates for a few seconds before hanging up.

Matteo sighs, as he stares out of the windshield, with the skies starting to darken as the sun sets behind the plane as they make their way eastward.

He does not know what he should think. Okay, for one, he is not even sure if he is being fair on David. They have spent barely a week with each other two trips combined, some of the times being in flights surrounded by their colleagues and hundreds of their company’s customers. They have also texted here and there since the trip to Tokyo. Though one cannot really say they really _know_ each other. Well, they had sex, so they know each other’s body, but that is not what Matteo means.

Granted, they have been sort of making eyes at each other since a few years ago, maybe since not long after Matteo started flying. There is also the fact they pretty much flirted with and openly checked out each other from the get-go, and they were also obviously very into it the when it happened. But then Matteo remembers why he has _thirsted_ after David, as Jonas would say, for so long without ever thinking he had a chance.

David always have people circling around him. He just sort of forgot that, given the fact that Matteo more or less had David to himself during much of the layovers and pre-flight time in these two trips they have had together.

Just to stoke the fire of misery for a moment here, Matteo _wants_ David. And he does not only want David in the sense of being in a bedroom. He wants David _whole_. Okay, he does not _know_ David well, but he has longed after him for so long, and these past two layovers going around places with David had been the best few days in his bland life recently. He laughed more, felt happier in general, and the world felt a touch more colourful with David around.

But what if David is not on the same page about all this?

Matteo slaps himself, literally, on the face. Johanna next to him is startled and looks at Matteo. “Woah buddy, are you alright there?”

“No, yeah. Sorry. I’m fine.” He dismisses it as he rubs his face, trying to push all of this out of his mind. The autopilot does most of the hard work, but _he still has a goddamned plane to fly_.

* * *

When David calls the flight deck again to ask about the meals for pilots, Matteo lets Johanna goes first. He knows it is David who came in to deliver the meal, though he does not trust himself enough to turn over to look at him, so he instead busies himself with reading the newspaper he has in his lap to pretend he does not notice.

The next time when it is Matteo’s turn to have his meal, someone else came in David’s stead to deliver his meal, as is the case for their breakfast a few hours later.

* * *

They have landed safely and ahead of schedule back at Frankfurt, with the clock barely before six in the morning and David feeling the fatigue from the flight, and also having been racking his brain about the _situation_ while also having to cater to the needs of these _high-paying_ customers. He again forces a smile to his face to bid farewell to the passengers before heading back to retrieve his suitcase. He hangs back from the rest of the crew as they walk ahead and exit the plane, and the door to the flight deck finally swings open when he is paces away. He steps into the galley and out of view from others.

“Better go home and rest up yeah?” He hears Johanna saying, presumably to Matteo. “Ciao ciao.”

Then he hears footsteps leaving the plane. He pokes his head out of the galley and comes face to face with Matteo, who freezes in his motions. Then he starts moving towards the cabin door.

“Matteo.” He reaches out with his injured hand by instinct and touches Matteo’s arm. “Talk to me.”

Matteo stops and looks at David again.

“I’m jealous.” Matteo shrugs, averting his eyes.

“Look, Matteo…” David starts, but is cut off by Matteo.

“No, it’s just me being stupid. No need to let me down lightly or whatever.” Matteo says while staring at the sidewall and sounding extremely unconvincing.

He reaches out with his healthy hand to touch Matteo’s face to make him look at him. Matteo flinches minutely, but he complies and looks David in the eye. His eyes are so sad, and David does not like it.

“I don’t know what this is between us, but this is not a fling to me, if it is not to you. And I’m not seeing anyone. Not Sophie, not anyone else.”

Matteo stares at him for a few beats, and David keeps eye contact with Matteo, willing him to understand what he has just said.

Eventually, Matteo nods. “Okay.”

“Okay?” He confirms.

In lieu of answering, Matteo reaches over to take David’s suitcase and starts walking. “Let’s go.”

He follows Matteo out of the plane. “Will you talk to me now?”

“Yeah.” Matteo replies, “I was just stupid.”

“You’re not.” He protests.

They again stop at the crossroads between the corridor down to the transfer counter and the way to immigration and customs. Matteo does not let go of David’s suitcase.

“The offer still stands, by the way.” Matteo says.

“And can I take you up on the offer?” David asks.

* * *

Thee trip back to the flat is quick, just two stops on the S-Bahn, as Matteo more or less lives in the backyard of the airport and the Commerzbank-Arena. He unlocks the door and leads David inside. He pushes David’s suitcase and his bag against the wall and leads David around the corner into the living room.

“You live alone?” David asks behind him.

“Mhm.”

“It’s quite spacious.” David says, as he leans against the kitchen counter, looking at Matteo looking through the fridge for things to make.

“I stay in a lot, so I’m not going to cheap out on the flat.” He shrugs, before continuing, “Do you want anything to eat?”

“Maybe a little sandwich or something, though I think I need sleep more than anything.” David says as he lets out a yawn in the end.

Matteo pulls out several items from the fridge. “Same.”

They spend the next few minutes putting together two sandwiches with salami, cheese, lettuce plus a cream-cheese spread that David whipped up after looking through his fridge. Matteo tries not to overthink anything, but what they are doing _screams_ domesticity, as they finish putting together the sandwich. He quickly takes a snap of the food to send to the boys before polishing off their respective sandwich standing side by side, staring out of the balcony window into the quiet neighbourhood.

They step back into the corridor when they are done. Matteo turns to look at David.

“There’s two options.”

“Yeah?”

“One is the guest room. It has everything.”

“And the other option?” David prompts, tilting his head with a cocked eyebrow.

“My bed. It’s big enough.”

Matteo falls asleep with a body pressed up his back and arm holding him. He sleeps better than he usually does.

* * *

Matteo stirs a few hours later, feeling much more rested and content. He feels fingers running through his strands of hair. He leans into the touch before he opens his eyes. David is now sat up against the headboard reading on his phone while playing with his hair absentmindedly. He puts down his phone when Matteo more or less rubs his face against David’s thigh.

“Good rest?”

His stomach growls.

“Hungry.”

David chuckles.

“It’s past three in the afternoon.”

He groans and pushes himself up, so he is sitting as well.

“Let’s order pizza.”

* * *

For two days, Matteo and David stay camped in Matteo’s flat.

They talked, hanging out on the balcony and looking out into the neighbourhood, seeing people and cars passing by, and occasionally hearing aircrafts in the distance. They talk about seeing but never talking to each other, and sharing stories about their work, particularly with David complaining about some of the shitty passengers he had come across, while Matteo recounts the one time he heard a pilot and an air traffic controller arguing on the frequency. They also talk about their respective passions, and Matteo learns that David grows up a theater kid and is still involved in theatre in his down time, likes drawing (“I remember seeing you drawing last week.”) and is generally artsy; while David learns Matteo is more or less a tech junkie, wants to have a cat, plays a lot of games on the console and his computer and obviously loves food and cooking. It’s superficial, but they are already doing better than before given that they virtually do not _know_ each other.

On the first night, they also play a bit on Matteo’s game console, going through games like Mario Kart, Zelda, Stardew Valley and so on. David’s competitiveness rears its head in games where they _compete_ as he does everything he can to beat Matteo. This somehow transpires to a situation where Matteo is pushed down on the couch, with David hovering above him and holding down both of his hands, still holding onto the controller.

The brewing tension makes its appearance again. Matteo lets go of his controller, but both of them do not move from their positions.

Matteo leans up, and David meets him halfway. Clothes are strewn in the hallway, leaving a trail towards Matteo’s room. Matteo is on cloud nine _again_.

Aside from the pizza they ordered, they take turns to cook up something for themselves. Matteo shows off his _Pasta a la Luigi_, chicken risotto among other things, while David cooked shakshuka and some pan-grills. They find out that each other can cook well, so cooking usually means both of them huddled at the kitchen counter figuring out what the other is doing and helping out.

* * *

“I have to fly back to Berlin tomorrow.”

They are curled up in Matteo’s bed the second night running. They have very successfully failed to talk about what they are exactly doing, but Matteo is getting attached. He winds his arms around David more tightly.

“Why?”

“I have to be work Thursday morning.”

“I’ll go to the airport with you.”

“You’ll stay in bed.”

Matteo grunts in protest but says no more as he falls asleep.

* * *

Matteo wakes up with the sun high in the sky and alone in the bed, with David somehow escaping his vices. He sits up and sees David’s suitcase is gone from the corner, and on the pillow next to him is a piece of paper. It is a drawing with a figure that resembles David holding in his hand a plane resembling the one they flew on. He reaches for his phone and texts David.

_Matteo_

“Cute drawing.” – 11:39

_David_

“Good morning sleepy head” – 12:04

* * *

They text incessantly during their respective downtimes, David having many short trips mixed with a few long ones, while Matteo nearly exclusively on long haul trips to places like Bangkok, Seoul Houston and even Buenos Aires. They talk about their days and their flights, while Matteo also sending pictures on his short layovers to David to not-so-subtly try and make jealousy rear its head in David, whose layovers on short flights would only be hours as he hopped from city to city. David though, seems much more interested in Matteo’s _suffering_ in a long flight.

_David_

“Jesus, how long was the flight? 12?” – 07:33

_Matteo_

“Nearly 14 actually. Kinda sucks.” – 07:41

_David_

“Hope your ass isn’t flattened :/” – 07:42

_Matteo_

“Is my ass more important than me????” – 07:44

_David_

“I’m sure you’re fine :)” – 07:45

So, yeah. There is an undertone of something going on even when they are just texting each other. They still have not talked about what they are exactly doing with each other though, and it is very present on both David and Matteo’s minds. There are moments, though, when David thinks both of them are on the same page. Like when Matteo is in Almaty.

_Matteo_

“i miss you” – 23:07

David checks the clock. It is 3 AM, the epitome of stupid o’clock where Matteo is.

_David_

“What are you doing up??” – 23:08

_Matteo_

“Flight leaves at 03:50” – 23:08

Sometimes logic just simply does not apply.

_David_

“Ok. Have a safe flight back.” – 23:09

“I miss you too.” – 23:10

* * *

Having a friend in scheduling also means that sometimes you get asked to help out on filling in shifts. This is how Matteo finds himself taking up a set of short flights in his schedule to help out with unscheduled shifts. He has a shorter day that starts in Frankfurt and ends in Berlin before a more grueling schedule for the following day.

Even though he is from Berlin, he does not really have a place in Berlin anymore unless he wants to stay with his mother – which no offence to _Mama Florenzi_, it is just that it feels a bit weird to sleep stay at home when you are halfway along the path to your third decade. The company puts him up in a hotel, but he finds himself at Jonas’ place eating a risotto he cooked for both of them.

He means to be catching up with Jonas since he has not seen him in a few months. Technically he is doing that, kind of in conversation with Jonas about how they have been doing recently, though Matteo has left out one important detail, partly because he does not know what the hell is going on with _that_, and partly because Jonas would not let him hear the end of it if he knows.

Though he is not really doing a good job at that, considering the fact that he keeps getting distracted from both Jonas and his food by his phone, which he picks up and types on from time to time. Eventually Jonas has had enough of it, and as Matteo again picks up his phone with a hint of a smile on his face, he asks, “Luigi, who’s that?”

Matteo presses send and places his phone back on the table face down, pulling a face of innocence. “No one.”

Jonas considers him, not buying his lie at all.

“Did you find someone in Frankfurt?” He asks, wiggling his eyebrows.

“No.”

“Hot guy?”

Matteo’s phone vibrates again. In lieu of answering Jonas, he picks up and texts David back.

“It is hot guy, isn’t it?” Jonas presses.

_David_

“We should hang out if we ever happen to be in the same city again.” – 19:27

_Matteo_

“We really should” – 19:28

“His name is David.”

Jonas smirks. “So how is this guy – David?”

“We just flew two flights together.” He shrugs nonchalantly.

Jonas looks like he does not buy it, but he does not press.

Or so he thought.

After a few seconds chewing on the food, Jonas says out of the blue, “Go get it boy!” and kicks him under the table.

Matteo just rolls his eyes. Not that Jonas needs to know he already got some.

* * *

Matteo really does not miss flying short haul, now that he thinks of it, having just set the plane down smoothly in Berlin Tegel from Frankfurt for the second time for the day, and completed a return trip between Frankfurt and Dubrovnik before this one. His captain, Greta, is on the radio.

“HansaAir 202 exit Tango-Sierra, contact ground 121.75”

“Tango-Sierra, ground 21.75”

Greta switches over to the ground control frequency.

“Ground, good evening HansaAir 202 with you at Tango-Sierra.”

“HansaAir 202, Stand 4. Left turn Sierra-Mike and proceed to gate.”

Matteo taxies the plane to the gate and turns the systems down, letting out a sigh of relief.

“We finally made it yeah?” She asks.

“Yeah. I’m so ready for a lie down.” He groans.

“Same.” She chuckles. “It’s been a long day.”

Matteo hums, stretching out with his seat pushed back, while Greta picks up her bag and steps out of the flight deck. “Good night!”

He yells the greeting back, before finally picking up his bag to get off the plane.

* * *

He stops at the side of the corridor to the front hall of the airport to check his phone, when someone speaks up behind him.

“Tell me you are not stalking me.”

He turns around and is face to face with David in his uniform.

“Considering you’re behind me, it seems it should be me who asks the question.”

“I’m the one who lives in Berlin.”

“I’m from Berlin too.” Matteo shoots back.

It really shows how _well_ they know each other, doesn’t it?

“Where are you staying then?” David challenges.

Matteo sighs. “The hotel.”

David’s smirk tells him he thinks he is vindicated. He rounds Matteo and starts walking. Matteo follows.

“I’d invite you for coffee if not for the fact it’s 10 PM.”

“What now, then?” Matteo asks.

“Do you have to work tomorrow?”

“No.”

“Me neither.” David says, taking a pause. “Come to mine.”

Matteo did not really plan on this. But can he say no to that?

“Sure.” He smiles at David.

* * *

Instead of coffee, they have tea and macaroni and cheese, as they sit around the table in David’s apartment and talk. This time, they talk more about themselves. Matteo talks about growing up being the sole child, and his group of friends that he sometimes hangs out with. He also talks about his Italian heritage, and also his love for cooking, especially Italian food that reminds him of Italy. David, in turn, talks about theatre and his friends who also does acting with him, and also his sister who manages a theatre in Berlin. He tells Matteo about his parents who live out of town and he only sees during holidays and also the fact that it was his mother who encouraged him to do sketching when he was a kid – a habit that he still has today.

David actually pulled out his sketchbook and is flipping through it with Matteo, and Matteo must admit he is impressed by David’s drawings. David is just a generally artsy and aesthetics person all around, he thinks, as he looks at the drawings, surrounded by a cozy apartment filled with drawings and plants.

“Oh, by the way.” David changes the topic from the collage he is showing Matteo.

“Go on.” Matteo says, as he traces his fingers around the drawing of a tree superimposed on a photo of a stage.

“Do you want to come to my play in the weekend?”

Matteo is set for a mandatory break given his intense flying schedule recently, so he has all the time to do whatever he wants, but more importantly…

“You have a play?” He asks incredulously.

“Yeah, it’s Romeo and Juliet, and I’m definitely not playing tree number five.”

Matteo nearly blurts that he would watch even if David is tree number five.

“Yeah, I’ll come.”

For once they do not jump each other, they just fall into bed together while Matteo enjoys being held by David, whose arms, Matteo belatedly realises, are very _defined_.

* * *

“Have you submitted your bidding for next month yet?” Matteo asks the next morning while sipping on a cup of coffee David made for him with a judgmental stare, after Matteo requested lots of sugar and milk to go with his coffee.

David is having coffee too, and is having it black at that, which Matteo cannot comprehend how he could manage. That is besides the point though. The thing that is more present on Matteo’s mind is trying to figure out if he could work together with David as much as possible so he could have David around him more. He is aware this is clinging and that they still have not put a name to whatever this is they are doing, or even figured out if they are expecting the same things from one another, but one problem at a time.

“Nah. Haven’t had the time yet. Have you?” David asks, considering Matteo.

He shifts under David’s stare, feeling himself getting slightly red, as he rubs the back of his neck. “I was wondering…” he starts, as David hums while taking another sip of his coffee, “do you want to try and coordinate?”

“So that we can avoid each other?” David says with a deadpan and without missing a beat at Matteo’s question.

Matteo is about to scramble to explain what he means, wondering how David could read the question like that, when David cracks a wide grin and flicks Matteo’s squishy nose. “Idiot. I get you.”

“Is that a yes?” Matteo asks, not wanting to sound hopeful but probably failing miserably.

David affirms with a hum, as he stands up and goes to put his cup in the sink, though not before he runs a finger across Matteo’s cheek on the way over.

* * *

Matteo looks on with great interest in a mid-size theatre among the quite-impressive crowd of people. Being at plays is new to him, as he has really little to none prior experience with theatres in general. Though, he has to concede, that there is a very particular reason he is in here.

David is on stage, playing as Romeo in the famous Romeo and Juliet play. Matteo is absolutely enchanted by David’s acting on stage, as he thinks David absolutely has the range and is a very good actor that tells the story well. In the dark of the surroundings, Matteo just openly stares at David as he commands the stage and atmosphere through various scenes, coming out in different outfits and moods as the story goes on.

Matteo, and evidently the whole audience, are captivated by the performance of everyone involved in the play, as they break into rapturous applause at the end, and many people stay behind to talk to people on cast.

Matteo hangs around until the crowd dissipates, and he has enjoyed himself here for most of the evening, aside from the scene when David, in character of Romeo, has to kiss the Juliet character, played by a girl with long blond hair who Matteo must admit is very beautiful. Matteo does not think he has the right to, but cannot help but feel a huge pang of jealousy when he saw that scene unfold.

That little cloud in his head is still prevalent when David comes over to hug him. David definitely picked up on that weirdness in Matteo’s mood, but Matteo quickly brushes it off as being tired. The cloud very much lifts, when he then sees the tall blond girl coming over, an arm swung around the back of the neck of a shorter girl and pressing a quick kiss to her temple.

David introduces Matteo to Leonie and Sara, who are David’s friends, as they chat quickly about the play and also Matteo’s work, though Matteo also sees both of the girls shooting secret knowing looks between Matteo and David, like they know something that Matteo does not.

David pulls Matteo along with him soon after, abandoning everyone else, as they retire to David’s apartment.

* * *

“You were amazing.” Matteo says, as they are sat in front of the TV and eating out of the takeaway box from a Vietnamese place around the corner from David’s flat.

“I like doing it.”

“You are like a professional.” Matteo muses.

“I would like to do something with acting or directing in the future, to be honest.” David says, as he pushes his takeaway box aside.

“So why are you flying instead?”

“School is not my thing, I suppose. Performative arts has always been a passion, but going on flights kind of appeals to me too, particularly when I fly long. I think it is kind of an adventure, and I can escape to new places.”

“Escape from what?”

David pauses for a moment. Matteo thinks maybe he has crossed a line. “Sorry…I didn’t mean to ask that.”

“Just, bad experiences with people. It’s okay.” David supplies, before quickly changing the question around. “Why are you flying then?”

Matteo debates the answer for a moment, before deciding on a truthful answer. “School wasn’t my thing either. I don’t really know, I don’t think I was particularly good at anything like my friends were, but my father offered to pay for whatever I choose to learn as a way to compensate walking out of my life – so I chose flying. I guess I find it freeing.”

David is holding Matteo’s hand running his thumb over it in a comforting gesture. He flips his hand over and holds David’s hands more properly. Matteo starts probing David with more questions about acting, theatre and so on, wanting to learn more about David’s passions.

At one point, David tells Matteo he does not see himself working the same job in five- or ten-years’ time. He wants to be doing something with his passion. Maybe acting, or maybe directing something of his own. He also shows Matteo some of the storyboards he had been working on in the past months and years which he pulled out from a bookshelf, as he tells Matteo about the stories, while Matteo mostly finds himself enraptured by David’s lively explanations.

* * *

Matteo is lying alone in his bed in Frankfurt late in the evening when his laptop chimes. He lazily rolls over to look at the new email, before grabbing his phone and typing as quick as he ever had. David beats him to it though.

_David_

“You got both? I got both.” – 21:51

_Matteo_

“Same. I’m looking forward to it.” – 21:52

_David_

“Oh, are you? :) ” – 21:52

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Let me know your thoughts!


	5. Detroit

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> One last hurrah, here we go :)

Standing in the terminal at the airport in Los Angeles, David stretches his back as they finally get to their destination, after sleeping in the slightly cramped crew quarters in the plane and again working with the business class passengers over nearly twelve hours of flight – and not to mention the time he spent before the flight to get to the airport; getting both the cabin crew and the cabin itself prepared for the flight; and the time the plane spent on the ground.

It is already the evening, and he is ready to fall face first into the bed right at this moment, preferably though he could have some food before that – but most importantly he prefers to have Matteo next to him right now so they can get going to the hotel they are staying in for the layover. He continues staring out of the window.

A while later, a pair of hands lands on and squeezes David’s shoulders.

“Hey.”

Matteo. Who also not so subtly breathes in David’s scent. David is torn between thinking whether Matteo just does not care David knowing, or if he genuinely thinks David would not notice.

David turns over and nudges Matteo with his shoulder.

“Took you long enough.”

“You miss me?” Matteo asks with a self-satisfied smirk.

David just rolls his eyes and starts walking, ignoring Matteo’s cute giggle.

They stop at an In-and-out on their way out into the city, and David gets to snuggle Matteo in bed in his hotel room, while the room that is technically Matteo’s lie distinctively empty.

He passes out soon from exhaustion, but the sleep quality is undoubtedly good, even if he is on a foreign bed.

* * *

They had had some luck previously when it came to scheduling, but this time round, their itinerary entailed a evening flight in and an early-afternoon out, so realistically they only have one day for their layover to probably get around. Doing the most touristy thing ever, they went to see the Hollywood Sign in person, as well as walking around the Hollywood area for a bit – but they spent most of the late-spring day around the beach area in Santa Monica and Venice, hanging out at the pier as well as making a long trek down the beach.

They also hang out at the Little Tokyo area for a bit, taking in the juxtaposition of Japanese culture in the heart of LA, as well as trying out the food in comparison to what David could have had at home, and what they have had in Tokyo. Being nearby, they also hopped on the Angels Flight funicular railway just for the fun of it.

There is definitely much more to see in the city, but if the circumstance only allow for limited exploration, they make do with it.

* * *

Looking at the bright side of things, David thinks, is that flying out of LA in the earlier flight means that he could be in Frankfurt for lunch in normal lunch hours. He knows that would probably involve him and Matteo cooking up something for each other again in Matteo’s flat near the airport, and honestly, he does not mind that one single bit.

To word it better, he looks forward to it. He likes Matteo, and aside from the obvious limbo about what they are which he thinks both he and Matteo is aware of, he now understands Matteo – he knows why there is a tinge of loneliness coming from Matteo when he first saw him. David has never heard of Matteo mentioning having seen anyone before; he lives alone in a city far from home; and his father walked out of his life when he was younger. He likes being around Matteo, having spent time around him for a bit; he likes the domesticity that they sometime slip into; and he likes keeping Matteo company – just like he does for David. For all the pursuit for freedom, David finds Matteo to be a place where he can find novelty and excitement even when he returns over and over – even when Matteo sometimes bothers him immensely.

Said person just flicks his ear while squeezing past him in the galley on his way out of the plane – presumably to do the external checks of the plane – when there is plenty of space outside the galley for Matteo to get to the door. David just rolls his eyes with a fond smile.

* * *

Matteo is in the left-hand seat standing in as the pilot in charge while the captain is having his scheduled rest. They are some three hours away from being back on terra firma and he is very much looking forward to getting home and cooking lunch with David. He may have even stocked up his fridge a bit before leaving for this trip, just to prepare for this. Cooking together with David is a fun activity for Matteo, speaking from experience from last time.

He is now talking to Lea, one of the two first officers serving as relief pilots for the flight, talking about getting ATPL and pilot-in-command training, and also the wait for captain positions to open up. Someone calls the flight deck at this time with Lea picking it up, and moments later David is in the flight deck with Matteo’s breakfast serving, handing it over to him.

“Up so early?” Matteo asks, deliberately stalling and lengthening David’s stay in the flight deck, partly due to Matteo missing him particularly knowing that he is so close. Judging by the looks of David, he probably knows exactly what Matteo is doing. He humours him.

“Got to get prepared to feed them plane food.” David replies with a slightly scrunched nose. “Where are we now anyway?”

Matteo remembers now, how David actually goes to the lengths of seeking out bread and basic ingredients to pack himself sandwiches, all three times on the morning they are due to fly back – David says he despises plane food and offered to make Matteo’s serving too, but Matteo tells David not to spoil him because he is definitely too lazy to make food for himself before he is about to fly.

“They probably hate it as much as you do.” Matteo quips, “We are somewhere between Greenland and Iceland.”

David rolls his eyes, just as Lea butts in. “Guys, are those northern lights?”

A reminder that they are not on their own. Matteo turns back over to see Lea pointing in front of them, slightly off to Matteo’s side, and Matteo is pretty sure that is it – the skies in front of them have a glow of green floating across the skies.

“That is beautiful.” David says behind Matteo.

“Yeah.” Matteo says absentmindedly, as he has already pulled out his phone and has started taking pictures of it.

“I’m gonna go and take some pictures from the peep hole on the door.” David announces as he slips out of the flight deck.

“See you later.” Matteo turns back to say, as David waves a little before closing the door. He turns back to take a few more pictures of it.

Lea sends Matteo a knowing look while Matteo takes a bite into the croissant that is still warm. He ignores it and continues polishing it off, and they chat for a bit more before the captain eventually rising from rest and Matteo shifting back over to the right-hand seat and they prepare for landing.

* * *

Hours later, they are in Matteo’s kitchen making some fusion of their cooking, as Matteo prepares the risotto base, while David cooks up some meatball he calls kofta with some savoury–spicy sauce to go with it to put on top of the rice; Matteo also makes baklava that Amira has taught him to make some years ago as a sort of desert – and David’s eyes light up when he sees what Matteo is making. Matteo makes a mental note to text Amira about it later.

After going into food-induced coma for a few hours post–lunch, they laze around the flat for a bit, David sketching something while Matteo annoys him next to him playing Stardew on his Switch. In the evening they venture into the city center, intending to window–shop a bit until Matteo snapped and got David an overcoat after David had spent more than five minutes staring at the coat. They also stop at some Turkish place to grab food – there is nothing that beats them when it comes to guilty pleasure food.

They talk about the northern lights they have seen in flight as they pull out their phones and start swiping around seeing the pictures they have taken of the sights. Matteo asks, on impulse, if David would ever go with him to see the northern lights in Iceland or Canada – which David agreed to without even giving it much of a thought.

David hangs around at Matteo’s, as their respective next flights are going to be the same flight anyway, so there is no point for David to fly back to Berlin just to come back a couple of days later. Not that Matteo would say that out loud, but he definitely internally fist pumped when David told him of the plan. He always welcomes more David.

* * *

From the moment they leave the bed in Matteo’s flat in Frankfurt, aside from when Matteo has to fly a plane and David has to babysit passengers, they have more or less stuck together like someone glued them together. They started late at night yesterday in Frankfurt, and because timezones, it is already early in the evening in Hong Kong by the time they settle down in a hotel just off the airport island. They look at the map and find out they are miles away from the city center, so they just settle for going to a restaurant in a mall nearby. Two things surprises Matteo – how this supposedly faraway rural town is also littered with high-rises, and how they have fully fledged shopping malls where you can get virtually everything.

If there is one thing in Matteo and David’s favour, it is the fact that the city is such a mixture of culture and cuisine, as they can see a wide variety of restaurants offering a cuisines from around the world. They settle on a Tewchow restaurant though, figuring that they should try something that is from around the region and probably more local.

The food is interesting, sour and savoury – and some are served cold. Both of them have had their fair share of _Chinese_ food from Asian restaurants in Germany, but there is just something different about this. There are more options for dishes and _dim sum_, the taste a bit different and it just feels more authentic all around. Some locals seem impressed that both Matteo and David are using chopsticks without difficulty, but no one needs to know David perfected his skills with sushi and Matteo perfected his skills because David laughed at him that one time he struggled with chopsticks.

It is not even seven yet when they have finished their food, and while they have considered the option of probably going back to the hotel and passing out, someone tells them that Hong Kong is one of those cities that does not really sleep and it is still very early in the evening by their standards. So they just hop on the metro and head straight for Hong Kong Island.

On the island, they see the sights of skyscrapers towering over every single street as there is nothing but high-rises as they walk around the Central district. There is also the sight of green double-decker trams that look like they are from another era zipping through the narrow streets of the congested traffic in the area, as they see the city being bright and bustling all around into the evening, in drastic contrast to most European cities they have been to.

They are feeling touristy at that moment from the novelty of the city that rivals New York with its number of skyscrapers and bustlines added with the fact that the city is magnitudes smaller while also littered with mountains all around. The Peak Tram seemed an appealing choice for them, as they hop on the funicular to get to the Victoria Peak, where they see themselves surrounded by the bright and colourful nightscape of the city, with numerous skyscrapers towering over the Harbour that runs between the island and Kowloon. At the same time, they are also surrounded by a lot of international tourists also taking in the sight from here, as they hear that it is one of the rare days the fog does not obscure the view.

They trek a bit up the path from the viewing platform, so they are not stuck in the gaggle of people and have some peace for themselves, as Matteo finds himself sneaking his arms around David’s middle and pressing his chest against David’s back. He presses a kiss on the sensitive spot behind David’s ear, who shudders a bit.

“We’re in public.” David mutters, as he turns around to look at Matteo.

Matteo just closes the distance and kisses David slowly as they both lean against the railing with the nightscape to their side, while they stay in the bubble of their own shielded by the various trees on this desolate path in the dark up on the hill, mere steps away from the crowd of tourists also taking in the sights.

“This is nice, isn’t it.” Matteo says when they break apart, staring out into the distance.

The question is vague, Matteo realises, and it is not like that he did this intentionally. He is not sure what he is talking about either. Is it this little bubble they are in? Is it the nightscape that is in front of them? Is it their jobs that lets them fly around the world?

Or is it this whatever unnamed thing they are doing that Matteo and David are both very into?

“Quite.” David muses, turning over to look out into the distance as well, though he also wraps an arm on Matteo’s waist, pulling him closer. Matteo finds himself melting into David’s side.

Matteo finds this thing with David, whatever it is, intoxicating. There is a tinge of fear somewhere, not knowing what David really wants from Matteo, when Matteo knows he pretty much wants every bit of David in the fullest of sense. It might seem ill advised to bring it up now to risk breaking the bubble, but Matteo does not think he can hold off the question anymore.

“What is this?”

So much for not holding off. He manages to sidestep the question once again. How does he come out with this question when what he really wants to ask is _what are we_?

David seems to get Matteo’s question, though at the same time also giving the most ambiguous of answers.

“This can be whatever it could be.”

* * *

Matteo might be low-key desperate for an answer, but it also helps that he still gets to kiss David; still gets to be held; still gets to have David top him when they get back to Frankfurt, even though they are both tired from the flight. Sometimes _needs_ have to take precedence over sleep.

He is desperate for an answer, but he is also happy that he did not just lose all of these things he likes a lot.

It is just the L-word that is missing.

* * *

Matteo is sore from the nightly activities from the day before, and David actually goes to the lengths of making both of them sandwiches and coffee (made to Matteo’s taste) and bringing them back to bed for Matteo. They sit in bed, as David puts on Only Lovers Left Alive on the TV screen opposite Matteo’s bed, as Matteo always gives him shit for having interest in artsy and edgy things. David figures he would make Matteo watch his favourite movie, now that Matteo is more or less powerless to resist while he recuperates in bed next to him.

* * *

Usually when David thinks about Matteo lying between his legs in bed, it has a more _exciting_ connotation to it. But right now, Matteo is just laid there relaxed, while David plays with and lightly pulls at his hair, just as the film is about to end. It lightly surprises David that Matteo actually paid attention to the film, rather than zoning out and start playing something on his phone or trying to get David interested in the _exciting_ activities like he usually would.

When the credits start rolling, Matteo speaks up from his perch.

“Is that why you want to go to Detroit?” Matteo asks, remembering that David has suggested Detroit as a destination that they may try to get scheduled to fly to when discussing what flights they are going to try to get scheduled to.

“Maybe.” David shrugs, even though Matteo cannot see it. “I like this movie. Detroit has a good music scene; seems to have places to explore. Ticks all the boxes for me.”

Matteo rolls around, nuzzles David’s tummy before climbing up so he is face to face with David.

“You are artsy and pretentious but I l–” Matteo starts before abruptly pausing.

“But I think we should try for Detroit next month.” He says after the brief pause.

David does not have enough time to process what Matteo stopped short of saying, but he knows going to Detroit is going to be a very appealing idea for him, and if Matteo suggests it, then he is going to grab it with both his hands. Better yet, maybe he can do something while they are there.

“Not a bad idea, Mr. Florenzi.” David says, wrapping his arms around Matteo and pulling him down so they can cuddle. Staying in bed seems enticing when you have good company.

* * *

It has been weeks since Matteo has seen David after their flight out to the far east, as you always win some and lose some when it comes to scheduling, and David finds himself flying short flights out of Berlin once again while Matteo has been allocated destinations like Cape Town and Mumbai among others that he has flown out to before for the month.

He has just come back from China, where it has always been a major nightmare flying out of. Air traffic controllers are not particularly comfortable with speaking English plus the fact that it is an airspace that is congested and poorly managed that always causes delays. He is home late for more than an hour even with his plane given a priority for landing for having an unruly drunk passenger on board. He is not really feeling it when it comes to making himself food and is about to say screw it and head to back when his phone chimes with a new email.

It is an email for the upcoming month’s scheduling, which sends Matteo into quickly grabbing his laptop and logging into the company’s system. It is a surprise, when he finds out that for the upcoming month he would be flying out to Detroit, and this turns into a pleasant surprise, when he sees David’s name next to the title of Cabin Service Manager.

He might have done a little fist pump in the privacy of his flat, but no one is there to witness or judge him for that.

He contemplates calling David just to let out some of his excitement, but decides against it knowing David’s day starts early for the following day. He just sends a text to David telling him to check his schedules as soon as possible.

He wakes up the next morning to a message from David that is just several dozens of exclamation marks.

* * *

They briefly hugged when they see each other in the crew check-in at the airport in Frankfurt. Matteo does not only do the briefing with the captain, Julian, as is normal procedure, but also hangs around for the briefing Julian does with David and the cabin crew. Not because he has to, but just because he can stand next to David after being deprived of David for weeks.

He is mildly surprised, later when he again deliberately squeezes past David in the galley on his way out of the plane for the external check, that David quickly grabs and kisses him before pushing him on his way. He feels like a teenager all over again but that simple kiss keeps him giddy all the way through his pre-flight work until he has to properly focus on the final checks while the passengers are boarding before they are to start their journey across the Atlantic.

David told has told him that the plane is a bit short of being filled to the brim today, so he actually makes the decision to get out of the flight deck to stretch his legs for a bit when it is his scheduled break, with a relief pilot taking over.

He says stretching his legs, but he really means make the few steps to get to the galley where he finds David hanging around in front of the microwave waiting for it to heat up something.

David smiles when he sees Matteo.

“Your turn to take a break?” He asks.

“Yeah.” He hugs David briefly before craning his head to peek at the microwave. “What’s that?”

“My sandwiches. You want some?” David asks, just as the microwave beeps. He pulls the box out and reveals one of those sandwiches Matteo has seen David make before.

Matteo wants to turn it down because it is David’s food, but at the same time he is having a moment of craving – plus David is not making it easy by shoving one of the sandwiches in front of his face. He takes a bite of it before taking hold of it himself, while David also gets started on one.

They just lean against each other in the cramped space while chatting lowly and catching up with each other in person, because texting is nothing when compared to being face to face, as they talk about things that they both know already again in the little bubble of the galley.

David later herds Matteo out of the galley and back into the flight deck, to his dismay, so he can get to the rest quarters and actually get some sleep in so he could be fresher for the later stages of the flight.

“We have all the time later on the ground.” David says, as he finally pushes Matteo up to the door to the flight deck before he turns and marches back into the galley.

He has no choice but to comply.

* * *

By the time they check in to the hotel that is across the expressway from the airport, it is already way past lunch time, in part also due to them being in awe of the access tunnel between two terminals at the airport that is one big light show. It works in their favour, however, in David’s opinion, as he just drags Matteo with him to hop on the bus at the airport to get into the city. After grabbing a quick bite to eat, they start wandering in midtown and downtown where there are still quite a number of open lots from previously demolished buildings, though the place in general is less abandoned than it used to be, as it is well on their journey towards revitalization. They just wander around the complex layout of streets before spending some time on the banks of the Detroit river and hanging out in the early summer breeze.

As evening rolls by, David brings Matteo to one of the many bars well known in the indie-music scene in the city. He is very determined to convince Matteo that Detroit is indeed the best music city after being scoffed at when he first suggested Detroit as a destination that they should consider.

The bar is already reasonably lively by the time they arrive, though David manages to get themselves a place in the corner where they can see the stage where a band is setting up for the evening. David orders a few beers for themselves, as he is more interested in having a good time with Matteo out here rather than getting both of them smashed.

The band gets started shortly after to rapturous cheers of the people in the bar. While initially skeptical of the music, David sees Matteo slowly getting into the groove and enjoying next to him as they stay in the cocoon of the booth next to each other chatting lightly and commenting on the music and discussing music tastes while the people around them are enjoying themselves with the band’s music blaring and bouncing around the walls of the bar.

Somewhere along the lines, David also order some chips to have some carbs to go with the beer so they both do not get tipsy easily, especially knowing that Matteo is a lightweight from prior experience.

They hop between a few bars, with many of them open into the depths of the early morning at stupid o’clock, so David brings Matteo with him to sample different atmosphere and music at different bars as they take in the vast variety of indie music in the Detroit scene.

By the time both of them are exhausted, the clock nearly strikes three, and David gets an Uber to bring them back to the hotel by the airport and they fall face first into the bed, being thoroughly exhausted from the long day, though they decidedly had a lot of fun hanging out in the bubbles they have carved out for themselves in the various lively bars.

* * *

Matteo wakes up to an empty bed that has only very faint residual warmth that hints at having another person in bed with him. With all the blinds to the room firmly drawn, he feels around in the dark for his phone to check the time. It is nearly one in the afternoon, and Matteo belatedly realise that this is not his phone, as the he is greeted by a phone background that is decidedly not his, and on closer inspection, looks like a drawing of his own face.

It is only now that he hears the shower running, so David has not randomly left him alone after all. Matteo spreads out and starfishes a bit while he continues to enjoy the soft comfort of the bed.

A few minutes later, David comes out in only in his underpants and rubbing his messy curls with the towel, unaware that Matteo is awake. Matteo suddenly feels that his bed clothes are too constricting and hot as he takes a deep breath to compose himself.

That catches David’s attention, as he bids Matteo good morning before going to his suitcase to look for clothes to put on.

Matteo clears his throat and pushes himself up the bed while David gets dressed. “You’ve been out already?”

“Yeah, went to grab food and some things.” He says nonchalantly before looking at Matteo pointedly in the dark. “You better shower. We went straight to bed last night.”

* * *

After being forcibly kicked into the shower, Matteo gets brought to lunch at a restaurant that feels distinctively American (as he belatedly realise they seldom eat American things when they fly to the U.S.) for food with way too huge servings, before going onto the big island on the Detroit river.

They just hang out at the island that is also a huge park for a few hours in the afternoon as they walk around the park and beaches randomly, enjoying the light breeze, as well as popping into the aquarium for a bit just because they had some time. It is really just going out together for the sake of not getting stuck in the hotel.

They head back to the hotel just to hang around and rest properly for a bit, as Matteo stares at the television watching whatever program is on at that moment with the volume turned down low, while David reads some book that looks artsy judging by the cover.

Somewhere along the lines, David stands up and goes over to his backpack to pull out something, a little bag, before handing it over to Matteo. It has some weight to it.

“Thought it would be an interesting memento for you.” David says, flopping down onto the bed next to Matteo.

He peeks into the bag and sees it is a polished rock with some defined patterns on it. It is interesting, and he genuinely likes it, even though he does not know what that is.

“It looks beautiful, thanks.” He flashes David a smile.

“It is a Petoskey stone, some sort of fossil stone that I saw in the shops.” David explains.

“It is definitely much more interesting than some of the things I’ve got in the past.” He quips. He leans in to press a quick kiss on David’s cheek, like they sometimes do, despite still not knowing what they exactly are. He still wants answers, but the questions are once again dispelled when David pulls him closer so Matteo is nestled into his side securely while he resumes reading his book.

“We’ll just order pizza for dinner?”

Matteo hums in agreement. He is more concerned about his proximity with David rather than what he has for dinner. In an ideal world, he would have David for _dinner_, if you catch his drift. But this more than works for him as well.

* * *

It is one of those typical late-night flights. Both David and Matteo deliberately stayed up late the previous day so they would wake up a bit later for the afternoon flight, and probably be a bit more alert and awake deeper into the flight. They would probably get back to Frankfurt before the clock hits six, and Matteo very much looks forward to the comfort of his own bed to adapt back to the German time zone and fix his sleep along with that.

The return flight does not even take eight hours technically, so they do not even have the relief pilot scheduled for the flight – it’s just Matteo and Julian the captain for the whole leg, plus the outbound relief pilot sitting somewhere at the back of the plane as a passenger being flown back home. Matteo does not really comprehend the rationale of doing this (well he does, it is perfectly in compliance with the rules plus pay considerations for the company), but he would really like to be able to have someone stand-in and let him stretch his legs for a bit, even though that is not strictly a necessity on his part. Just a nice to have.

He just lets Julian fill the gaps of silences in the cockpit while they are cruising, Matteo mostly making noises and short answers to humour him, but he is not really familiar with Julian so he is not too comfortable talking to him. Other than that, all signs points to a normal routine flight, as they fly over the vast emptiness of the Atlantic.

Not really feeling the hunger as he has gone to have dinner with David barely before they had to report for duty, Matteo lets Julian has his go for dinner first, while he continues reading something in the newspaper. It was not David who brought in the food, presumably having opted to have an early rest this time round. Matteo is not that fussed about it.

* * *

Despite the stormy weather, Matteo thinks all is going well, even when Julian gets up to go to the toilet, he still does not think anything should concern him. However, almost five minutes into David sitting on the jumpseat to stay with Matteo in the flight deck (as regulations require the flight deck to be occupied by at least two crew members at all times), Matteo is starting to have his doubts.

“Do you think someone should check on Julian?” He puts down the paper he has been reading and turns over to look at David in the jump seat, whose frown suggests he has probably been thinking about something along those lines.

“One moment.” David says, picking up the crew intercom to call up the cabin.

Matteo pulls out his checklists to start reading through it, as well as checking their positions just to reinforce his awareness of the situation at hand. Meanwhile David talks to one of the flight attendants in the cabin.

“Hey Erik, can you go check on the captain? He should be in the lavatory near the flight deck. Ok. Thanks.”

“Erik will call you up in a moment.” David tells him. Matteo meanwhile finishes reading off the list and puts it aside, sitting back again as there is little he can do anyway before he knows what is actually going on.

“I hope we can get home on time.” Matteo mutters.

“Me too.” David says as he stretches for a bit.

A minute or two later, the intercom is chiming again, and Matteo picks it up. “Hey.”

“The captain is throwing up and does not seem to be getting better.” He hears a guy, Erik’s voice, slightly strained and stressed and Matteo feels his brows getting knitted together as well.

“He’s still throwing up?”

“He’s just sto– Shit, he’s started again.”

Matteo rubs his face hard before turning and making eye contact with David, who seems to know what Matteo is considering as well.

Before he can talk this through though, he feels the plane starting to shake. Turbulence, and it seems like it is growing stronger.

“Sit down and get him strapped down fast, we’re hitting turbulence.” He quickly commands.

“David, safety belts.” He alerts, as he quickly flicks on the safety-belt sign for the cabin, he throws a quick glance and sees David pulling his the adjusted a bit tighter. “Got it.”

He quickly moves over to the left seat, throwing the pilots’ tablet containing checklists at David who catches it easily, then turns on the PA.

“Cabin crew take your seats immediately. Everyone please stay in your seats as we are hitting some rough turbulence.”

There is little he can do. He can only hope the weather clears up a bit, otherwise he would have to hand fly the plane solo through the rough weather.

“I can’t ask for Andy in this turbulence, so I’ll rely on you.” Matteo starts as he starts scanning the screens again to make sure everything is fine as is. “Can you run a few checklists with me? Just read through them.”

“Okay.”

“Let’s start with the diversion protocol.”

From the jumpseat, David helps Matteo run through various checklists, as Matteo crosschecks the various knobs, switches and settings, then alerts the air traffic control to the situation on board and starts planning on diverting to Dublin.

Matteo disengages the autopilot and puts his full focus onto flying, navigating and communicating with the controllers, starting to climb out of the turbulence zone and turn eastwards towards Dublin. While all that is happening, David quickly briefs the flight attendants through the intercom about the current situation, before making the announcement about it to the cabin.

The skies finally clear up enough for Matteo to ask for Andy to come to the flight deck to take the right-hand seat, just minutes before they descend enough to enter the flight level that sterile cockpit rule has to be observed.

“You’ve got this.” David leaves the flight deck to make sure the cabin is ready for landing.

Matteo takes the opportunity to quickly brief Andy on the current plan and weather situation, asking him to help with the call outs and radio while Matteo focuses on landing the plane.

Some minutes later, Matteo sees the airport in the distance. Andy next to him is communicating with the tower at the airport. Then he hears Andy doing the readback that he needs the most.

“Copied. Runway 29. Clear to land, HansaAir 443 Mayday.”

* * *

After parking the plane at the terminal, he pokes his head out into the cabin to see Julian, now a few shades whiter, getting escorted out of the plane by paramedics, while he also sees David now a few notches wearier, presumably from having to try placate passengers about the unexpected diversion.

They cannot keep going on their way either, as Andy is not cleared for taking off and landing the plane yet, so they are stuck.

* * *

After spending a long time on the phone with corporate, Matteo finds himself still stuck in the terminal, snuck away in the corner next to David. The plane was luckily not that filled, and the airline managed to find some empty seats from their multiple daily flights plus from other carriers, so at least part of the passengers are sent on their merry way. Even though it does not help him getting out of here, Matteo is quietly thankful he chose Dublin over Shannon, or otherwise he is probably stuck with hundreds of annoyed passenger with no one getting out anytime soon.

He leans his head on David’s shoulder, not caring they might be seen by people. David has his head tilted back, staring straight at the ceiling of the airport like it holds answers to their predicament.

Moments later his phone rings again. He gets agitated again, talking to the company people on the phone, but is slightly soothed, when David starts to run a hand through his hair. While the company would obviously put passengers up in hotels overnight as they figure out what to do to get the rest of the people out of Ireland, that is not extended to the crew. He tells David as much, as he lightly kicks his travel bag.

After a few moments, he sighs defeatedly.

“We’ll get a room.”

* * *

David finds himself pacing around the hotel room for the past few minutes, just working out all his energy from the flight. He has had his fair share of diversions, much like Matteo had, but it is an entirely different matter when you have the plane’s captain throwing his stomach up in the lavatory while the plane is hit by turbulence in bad weather – and someone who can fly a plane is in the passenger cabin having no way to come up immediately. The only thing it could have gone worse is to have an engine fail on them or something.

Meanwhile, Matteo is just flopped like a piece of overcooked spaghetti on the bed, as the exhaustion from the strain and stress from the situation is finally catching up on him now that he can properly relax.

Eventually, he plops himself down on the bed, sitting right in front of Matteo. While it is not necessarily the case that this helps him make his mind up, he realises to get what he wants, it is obviously not going to come from Matteo taking the initiative. He meant to do this while they were in Detroit, but much like Matteo, he was just too comfortable that he managed to put it off once again. Going through it sort of hardens his resolve, maybe.

“Matteo.” He starts.

Matteo, in his spaghetti state, lazily flops his head in the direction of David before humming in acknowledgement.

“We’ve done this whole thing in reverse or random order but,” he takes a breath. “I love you. Be my boyfriend?”

Matteo’s brain seemed to be offline for a few more moments, as he continued to smile at David with a dumb sweet smile, before his eyes suddenly widen and he looks a few notches more awake than just seconds ago.

David holds his nerve, as he lets Matteo come back up to speed with the current goings on.

Matteo shifts his body, so that he is now face to face with David and mere inches away. He holds his gaze with David.

“I love you too.”

It is at the instant, all the things they have been doing and all the things David has been feeling for the months past suddenly makes sense and falls into place. It is so obvious that this has been the implication of what they have been doing with each other, but somehow they have been so skillful and successful in sidestepping the topic.

He needs to hear it again.

“Say it again.”

Matteo’s face pulls into a self-conscious little smile as he drops his gaze to where their knees are touching. He takes David’s hands and holds them between their laps.

“I love you, David.”

It is not a stretch that David says they have got the sequence for this relationship thing all wrong, going straight from pining to tension to bed and then more or less dancing around each other with some more sex thrown into the mix sometimes. But he got here. He is winning.

He pulls in Matteo so he can hug him, and uses the momentum and his strength to roll himself onto the bed, holding Matteo on top of him. He kisses his forehead.

“Good to know that.”

* * *

David sees the text first, because he is up first in the morning, and somehow managed to wiggle enough in Matteo’s grip to reach out to get his phone to read it.

He quietly cheers the fact that he does not have to work further to shepherd passengers who are highly likely to be in an uncharitable mood having their journeys disrupted and instead could probably can just sit around for a bit for once.

But basically, a replacement team of pilots are going to be flown in later in the day to fly the empty plane and the crew back to Frankfurt.

Matteo actually _cheered_ moments after waking up, when David broke the news. He tried to grab David and make him stay in bed, but was chastised by David, as, for one, they have to check out soon, and on the other hand, they should also be at the airport soon so everyone can get home as soon as possible. Not having to wait around for passengers who leave it to the last moment should really help them achieve this goal.

The will to get home is about the only thing that could trump his wish to placate Matteo, who is mildly sulking about being dragged out of bed.

* * *

“I don’t think I’ve actually ever been a passenger in this plane, actually.” David says, as the plane levels off from the take off climb, which by the way, for once there is no captains rambling on to passengers about destinations, or welcoming people on board, as the whole thing was done in silence, with the crew scattered across the plane and left to their own devices.

Matteo and David find themselves alone in the corner of the business class, while he sees Erik in the opposite corner with his earphones plugged in, while some other crew members are probably hanging out in the economy class, having spaces to themselves.

Matteo has been touchy feely since being forced out of bed earlier in the day, and he is now again playing with David’s hands in David’s lap. Part of the reason why he randomly brings this topic up, in hopes of distracting Matteo for a bit.

Matteo evidently has some other ideas, however, as he continues to absentmindedly playing with David’s fingers, before sliding his hands onto his lap instead. “Is that so?” He muses, like he is wondering something.

He hums to affirm.

There is suddenly a glint in Matteo’s eye, and before David processes what could Matteo possibly be thinking, his space is suddenly full of Matteo, as Matteo somehow pulls off sitting on David’s lap while kissing him. David responds as enthusiastically as he has been, before his mind catches up and he pulls back to glare at Matteo.

“Matteo.” He whisper-shouts.

“I just thought, there might be something else about flying that would interest you.” He says with such an innocent smirk and nonchalant tone that would have passed off for nothing special, were it not for the fact that Matteo is literally sat in his lap, and that David actually sees hint of an _issue_ through Matteo’s skinny jeans that look oddly like David’s.

“Don’t tell me you’re suggesting what I’m thinking.” He says, wide-eyed, looking at Matteo.

“Don’t tell me you’re not considering what I’m suggesting.” Matteo shoots back, the smirk growing less innocent by the second, openly staring at David in his eyes.

David shifts a little, he cannot deny Matteo is having an _effect_ on him.

Matteo stands up, lightly pulling David’s curls with his fingers before sauntering off into the business class lavatory. David might have had his sights trailed after Matteo, and he notices the light for a locked lavatory door does _not_ light up. Fucking hell.

After a few long seconds, David quickly surveys the surroundings. Erik’s head is slumped against the window, while the rest of the crew is nowhere to be seen. He quickly tiptoes to the same door Matteo disappeared behind and opens it, quickly slipping in, coming face to face with a Matteo that looks like a cat that got his cream. David reaches behind himself to lock the door.

Matteo moves forward in the relatively tight space to crowd David against the door, with a devilish and smug smirk that David does not know he is capable of. “Hi.”

David, of course, is not one who backs down from challenges. He reaches one hand towards Matteo, ghosting around and tracing Matteo’s _problem_. He sees Matteo sharply drawing in a breath. David’s got him.

“Hi yourself, Florenzi.” He says, voice low.

“It’s unfair.” Matteo whines, as David still keeps his hand cupped over Matteo, moving minutely, while the other hand disappearing under the Matteo’s t-shirt and flicking over his nipple, just enough for Matteo to feel _something_.

“We’ll make it quick, needy boy.” David mutters under his breath, as he undoes Matteo’s jeans and pushes them down. “These look like my jeans.” He muses.

Matteo pauses his motion of doing the same to David’s pants. David gives him a stroke through his underwear to demand an answer.

“I got it from your suitcase this morning.”

“I’ll take it back.” He says with a devilish smirk.

He can feel from his hand, through the underwear, that Matteo _jumps_ and _hardens_ _even more_ upon hearing David saying that.

Before Matteo recovers, his underwear joins the jeans halfway down his thighs, as David suddenly starts stroking Matteo quickly, who has to bury his head in the crook of David’s neck to hide his moan, being unable to hold it back. David’s smirk grows even wider.

His smugness, however, is short-lived. Matteo, while still being _tormented_ by David, somehow finds the strength and coordination to start rubbing David just where Matteo knows will make his legs _weak_. He falters and stops his hands from the pleasure coming from below. Though the determination to make Matteo pay for even making him consider this in the first place – even if he is very much enjoying it – is also very strong, as he starts working on Matteo again, focusing more on teasing his head which he knows will always get Matteo’s toes curling.

Judging by how Matteo stutters to a stop, he knows, he has once again got him. He turns Matteo around so now he is holding him from behind while Matteo is all but powerless and at David’s mercy, all but melting against David while David’s fingers work wonders, he thinks judging from Matteo’s state, to bringing pleasure to him.

Matteo stops him when he gets close.

He lets Matteo turn back around as he kisses David, before suddenly dropping down on his knees and start eating David out. David has to bite his own palm to avoid actually yelling out loud so that the whole plane knows what they are up to. He leans all his weight against the wall as he thinks he sees stars while Matteo relentlessly licking and probing with his tongue, paying back all the torment David has just unleashed on him minutes ago – apparently David’s competitiveness is _rubbing off_ on Matteo. He does not stop, despite David pulling at his hair in desperation, until David starts coming and Matteo has to hold him upright with the help of the wall.

Matteo, who is still hard and red, rubs against David’s thigh, as his hands pushes up David’s t-shirt and running against the skin there and also kissing languidly with David in stark contrast with the desperation of Matteo’s need and movement, and he comes against David’s thigh and abdomen.

David deposits Matteo against the opposite wall in the cramped space while he wipes himself, then Matteo, down and exhausting the toilet’s paper rolls in the process.

“I don’t wanna say it, but, that was quite hot.” David whispers into Matteo’s ear as he does up his pants and belts again, while Matteo still stands there with his jeans and underwear halfway down his thighs.

“Hurry up, we should get out soon.” David huffs.

Matteo still stands there unmoving.

“I thought you want your jeans back?” Matteo asks innocently though the question is anything but that.

He rolls his eyes.

“Pull them back up. No one gets to see you like that other than me.”

He swears Matteo shuddered a bit at that.

They sneaked back out into their seats without event as they slumped into a brief sleep for the rest of the short hop back over to Frankfurt.

* * *

They are walking down the jet bridge into the terminal from the plane, side by side.

“So boyfriend.” Matteo starts, sounding pleased with himself.

“Yes, boyfriend?”

“That was good yeah?”

David feels his cheeks growing a few shades blushier.

“That never happened but it was good.” He whispers urgently at Matteo, aware that the rest of the crew are a mere few steps ahead of them.

“Sure.” Matteo agrees with a satisfied smirk. “Are we heading home?”

“We sure are.” David agrees.

* * *

_5 Years Later..._

David quietly sits down in the first-class deck of the plane as passengers file into the plane. He is thoroughly exhausted from all the events he has been at over the past few days and he is more than ready to get back home and probably sleep for three days. Despite having flown for many years, having done it as a job and flying day-in day-out, it is quite a different feeling when he finds himself on the other side of the coin, being the passenger while he sees people wearing the same uniform he has once worn, fake-smiling at people as they file into their seats.

He just pulls out his sketchbook and starts drawing in the spacious privacy of his seat while waiting for the hundreds of people to get settled.

Eventually the PA system comes to life, breaking David’s concentration. He plays with the ring on his finger.

A familiar voice comes through the system. He smiles.

“Good evening, I’m Captain Matteo Florenzi-Schreibner – ”

David can hear the commotion of murmurs from the people who have paid attention to what Matteo is saying. That is an easily recognizable surname.

“and on behalf of the airline, I would like to welcome you on board on this A380 which will bring you back to Frankfurt in around ten hours. If you’re on the wrong flight, might be a good time to tell a flight attendant.”

David chuckles. That is such a dumb joke.

Matteo is not done though.

“By the way, David’s film is the big winner in this year’s Oscars, if you’re not aware. I highly recommend it. Go see it somewhere.”

He buries his face in his hands and groans. Why is Matteo so embarrassing? He is fond though, at the same time. Matteo is so genuinely so proud of him and happy about that.

“Anyway, we are going to get started in around five minutes, so get yourselves ready, sit back, pay attention to the safety instructions, and enjoy! Ciao.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Talk to me :)
> 
> * * *
> 
> **Author’s Note**  
17 November 2019
> 
> And there we have it! That is the end of the Pilot AU. Somehow, I have not drafted an end note like I have done before, so instead I will just ramble a bit now as I post this final chapter.
> 
> I can’t even remember how this idea came into being, other than that I brought it up while talking to Harri (@theyellowcurtains) about the Photography AU when that fic was still in its infancy. This is more of a different project for me, with a distinct lack of time and dates, as well as it being much more lighthearted than the other two AUs I have written before. I hope that this is not too bad.
> 
> Upon posting the final chapter of the Pilot AU, I have also run out of fics in my backlog to be posted. For the first time since the start of June, back when I posted the first chapter of the Director AU, I have nothing in reserve. Work has been a massive time and energy drain, as it turned out, and no matter how much I wanted to write for the few ideas I have written down somewhere, that was simply not that possible. I have previously started a <del>depression-fueled</del> WIP but have not touched it in nearly two months.
> 
> It has been a cracking half-year for me writing and posting for the DRUCK fandom, and I have to thank you all for being along for the ride. I hope to see all of you again soon.
> 
> Bis bald.

**Author's Note:**

> HMU at [davenziabend.tumblr.com](https://davenziabend.tumblr.com)  
Comments very much appreciated!


End file.
